Yosemite Fire: Battle To Protect Homes, Hundreds of firefighters have been called in to protect communities from one of California’s worst wildfires that has been raging for more than a week.
Winds of up to 50mph and movement of fire to the tree tops have created conditions that pose "every challenge that there can be on a fire", according to firefighters leading the battle against the blaze north of Yosemite National Park.
The fire had grown by seven square miles on Sunday and now covers a 207 square mile area.
Officials estimate only 7% of the fire is now contained despite a 10-day fight to bring it under control.
Daniel Berlant, of the California Department of Forestry and Fire Protection, said: "A crown fire is much more difficult to fight. Our firefighters are on the ground having to spray up.
"Today, unfortunately, we are expecting strong winds out of the south. It's going to allow the fire to advance to the northeast."
He added: "This fire has continued to pose every challenge that there can be on a fire: inaccessible terrain, strong winds, dry conditions. It's a very difficult firefight."
Fire officials are using bulldozers to cut lines they hope the fire will be unable to jump on the Rim Fire's north side to protect the towns of Tuolumne City, Ponderosa Hills and Twain Hart.
The blaze sweeping across steep, rugged river canyons quickly has become one of the biggest in California history, thanks in part to extremely dry conditions caused by a lack of snow and rainfall this year.
Investigators are trying to determine how it started.
The Rim Fire has threatened two groves of giant sequoias that are unique the region.
The towering trees, which grow only on the western slopes of the Sierra Nevada and are among the largest and oldest living things on earth, can resist fire.
However, dry conditions and heavy brush are forcing park officials to take extra precautions in the Tuolumne and Merced groves.
The fire is the most critical of a dozen burning across California, officials say.
More than 12 helicopters and a half-dozen fixed wing tankers are dropping water and retardant from the air and 2,800 firefighters are on the ground.
Winds of up to 50mph and movement of fire to the tree tops have created conditions that pose "every challenge that there can be on a fire", according to firefighters leading the battle against the blaze north of Yosemite National Park.
The fire had grown by seven square miles on Sunday and now covers a 207 square mile area.
Officials estimate only 7% of the fire is now contained despite a 10-day fight to bring it under control.
Daniel Berlant, of the California Department of Forestry and Fire Protection, said: "A crown fire is much more difficult to fight. Our firefighters are on the ground having to spray up.
"Today, unfortunately, we are expecting strong winds out of the south. It's going to allow the fire to advance to the northeast."
He added: "This fire has continued to pose every challenge that there can be on a fire: inaccessible terrain, strong winds, dry conditions. It's a very difficult firefight."
Fire officials are using bulldozers to cut lines they hope the fire will be unable to jump on the Rim Fire's north side to protect the towns of Tuolumne City, Ponderosa Hills and Twain Hart.
The blaze sweeping across steep, rugged river canyons quickly has become one of the biggest in California history, thanks in part to extremely dry conditions caused by a lack of snow and rainfall this year.
Investigators are trying to determine how it started.
The Rim Fire has threatened two groves of giant sequoias that are unique the region.
The towering trees, which grow only on the western slopes of the Sierra Nevada and are among the largest and oldest living things on earth, can resist fire.
However, dry conditions and heavy brush are forcing park officials to take extra precautions in the Tuolumne and Merced groves.
The fire is the most critical of a dozen burning across California, officials say.
More than 12 helicopters and a half-dozen fixed wing tankers are dropping water and retardant from the air and 2,800 firefighters are on the ground.
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