Friday, August 23, 2013

RIM fire update 8-23-13 2:00 pm

The Rim fire has transitioned to the Southeast Blue Team and remains in unified command with Cal Fire.
The fire continues to increase in size and actively through the day and night. It continues burning east and has crossed the Yosemite National Park boundary. The fire also continues burning west toward the coummunity of Pine mountian Lake.
The availability of fixed wing air craft is pertinent to the success of suppression operations. The use of Maffs C-130s and the V-LAT DC-10 has greatly improved suppression efforts. Use of Military Rotary wing aircraft continues today.
In the next 24 hours the fire is expected to continue up the Tuolumne River canyon, and continue its spread to the north and east.
Due to inaccessible, steep terrain and active fire behavior a combination of direct and indirect attack will be used on this incident. Direct line suppression efforts are impeded by difficult access and steep inaccessible terrain. Active fire behavior today raises safety concerns for crews adjacent to the fire’s edge. Smoke exposure within the deep drainage of the Clavey River will be an issue for fire crews as well.