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California wildfire continues to blaze - and can be seen from space

The cause has not been determined for the fire, but fire officials have expressed optimism about the situation.

CREWS ARE FINALLY gaining ground on a massive wildfire burning near Yosemite National Park as fire officials expressed optimism – even as the blaze grew larger, while containment jumped to 20 percent.

The fire has blazed so strongly that it is even visible from space, as this photograph from NASA shows.

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Pic: NASA

The BBC reports that the fire now covers almost 600 square kilometres.

As flames lapped at the edge of the main reservoir that supplies San Francisco, fears that the inferno could disrupt water or power to the city diminished.

“It looks great out there. No concerns,” Glen Stratton, an operations section chief on the blaze, said of the Hetch Hetchy Reservoir.

Firefighters

Nearly 3,700 firefighters battled the roughly 252-square-mile fire, the biggest wildfire on record in California’s Sierra Nevada.

Weather conditions forecast for tomorrow may bring challenges in the morning as heavy smoke settles low to the ground, limiting visibility, but higher humidity was expected in the afternoon which could help dampen the flames, said Matt Mehle, a National Weather Service meteorologist assigned to the fire.

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A fire truck drives past burning trees as firefighters continue to battle the Rim Fire near Yosemite National Park. Pic: AP Photo/Jae C Hong

Crews remained confident they could protect hydroelectric transmission lines and other utility facilities at the reservoir, the chief source of San Francisco’s famously pure drinking water.

Utility officials monitored the basin’s clarity and used a massive new $4.6 billion gravity-operated pipeline system to move water quickly to reservoirs closer to the city.

So far the ash that has been raining onto the reservoir has not sunk as far as the intake valves, which are about halfway down the 300-foot O’Shaughnessy Dam. Utility officials said the ash is non-toxic but that the city will begin filtering water for customers if problems are detected.

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Smoke clouds and bands of haze from the Rim Fire in the western Sierra Nevada loom up some 20 miles behind the famed granite monolith known as Half Dome in Yosemite National Park. Pic: AP Photo/Tami Abdollah

Power generation there was shut down last week so firefighters would not be imperiled by live wires. San Francisco is buying replacement power from other sources to run City Hall and municipal buildings.

It has been at least 17 years since fire ravaged the northernmost stretch of Yosemite that now is under siege.

Park officials cleared brush and set sprinklers on two groves of giant sequoias that were less than 10 miles away from the fire’s front lines, said park spokesman Scott Gediman.

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The Rim Fire burns along Highway 120 near Yosemite National Park. Pic: AP Photo/Jae C Hong

The fire has swept through steep Sierra Nevada river canyons and stands of thick oak and pine, closing in on Tuolumne City and other mountain communities.

It has confounded ground crews with its 300-foot walls of flame and the way it has jumped from treetop to treetop.

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Operations section chief Glen Stratton points to the Hetch Hetchy Reservoir on the map. Pic: AP Photo/Jae C Hong

Crews spent Monday bulldozing firebreaks to protect Tuolumne City, several miles from the fire’s edge.

Stratton said they would continue working to burn vegetation in the fire’s path to slow its march toward town. He said that while the community remains in harm’s way, “I’m pretty optimistic.”

Meanwhile, biologists with the Forest Service are studying the effect on wildlife. Much of the area that has burned is part of the state’s winter-range deer habitat. Biologist Crispin Holland said most of the large deer herds would still be well above the fire danger.

Biologists discovered stranded Western pond turtles on national forest land near the edge of Yosemite. Their marshy meadow had burned, and the surviving creatures were huddled in the middle of the expanse in what little water remained.

“We’re hoping to deliver some water to those turtles,” Holland said.

We might also drag some brush in to give them cover.

Wildlife officials were also trying to monitor at least four bald eagle nests in the fire-stricken area.

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The Hetch Hetchy Reservoir is hazy with smoke from the Rim Fire. Pic: AP Photo/Jae C Hong

While it has put a stop to some backcountry hiking, the fire has not threatened the Yosemite Valley. Most of the park remained open to visitors.

The US Forest Service said the fire was threatening about 4,500 structures and destroyed at least 23.

Rugged terrain, strong winds and bone-dry conditions have hampered firefighters’ efforts to contain the blaze, which began on August 17. The cause has not been determined.

Read: Yosemite fires cause tourists to flee national park>

Photos: Firefighters battle blaze near Yosemite National Park>

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10 Comments
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    Mute eric grixy
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    Aug 27th 2013, 11:36 AM

    I told you how to sort this one Barrack ; see to it there’s a good ladeen.
    Yours ,
    Treebeard .
    C.I.A. ,Terror plot, Al qa’ida, Osama Bin Laden ; now that should get your attention !

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    Mute eric grixy
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    Aug 27th 2013, 12:15 PM

    I’r a idiot alright !

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    Mute eric grixy
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    Aug 27th 2013, 12:22 PM

    Declan; rather than looking at the pictures and thinking “oh tragic, how awful , I actual put my brain to work on the problem , came up with a possible solution and then contacted the Whitehouse with a suggestion that involves a militarial solution to the problem ; it’s a theory which might work so I passed it on to the relevant authorities who might be able to implement it.
    The solution is based on chinese philosophy and battle tactics and my observances of wildfires in bogs!
    It may not work , it may have been tried before , but at least I tried something novel ; I must be an idiot so ! lets see if they start creating clay walls to hem in the fire shall we ?

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    See 2 more replies ▾
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    Mute Ronan McGrath
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    Aug 27th 2013, 2:09 PM

    Imagine being stuck beside Eric Grixy on the bus

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    Mute eric grixy
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    Aug 27th 2013, 8:21 PM

    I dont take the bus maybe you shouldn’t take it seriously ; This is the new paper it doesn’t refuse type !

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    Mute Jim Flavin
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    Aug 27th 2013, 12:51 PM

    Yosemite is not the only place where fires are burning in US .
    from AJE
    ”As of last week, wildfires had torched more than 1.2 million hectares of land across the US this year. Fires are burning right now in California, Oregon, Washington, Montana, Idaho, and Alaska. Arizona, Colorado and Nevada suffered their share of massive blazes earlier this summer, including the deadly Yarnell Hill fire that killed 19 of Arizona’s top fire-fighters.”
    Some of these areas are in fact Desert areas – not the smartest place to be building large cities
    full article
    http://www.aljazeera.com/indepth/opinion/2013/08/201382614245229633.html

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    Mute eric grixy
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    Aug 27th 2013, 12:37 PM

    Where’s Declan Noonan’s comment “Eric your a idiot” … it ruins the narrative !
    Insert between comment 1 and 2 above to make sense !
    How did he get it taken down so quickly and under what grounds I didn’t ask for it to be taken down…………. maybe he realised his mistake , good he may be learning something ; we are all fallible , especially me !

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    Mute Tag Dark
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    Aug 27th 2013, 3:49 PM

    Aren’t we past the “can be seen from space” tag? My house can be seen from space.

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    Mute Daniel Cullen
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    Aug 28th 2013, 2:22 AM

    To think I was in that region no more than a year ago just amazes me , like I was at half dome in Yosemite national park , it’s just boggled my mind

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    Mute Daniel Dunne
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    Aug 27th 2013, 6:48 PM

    These wild fires should not be put out until they come to harm towns etc… by putting them out the authorities are only stockpiling further tindergrowth to be burned next year, the year after or whenever. These forests throughout history always burned (lightning strikes from dry storms) and are a very natural part of the eco system. The ashes from the burning help re-fertilize the soil, gives a huge amount of flora and fauna a chance to grow before the canopy gets re-established thus encouraging wildlife.

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