The Rim Fire was a massive wildfire that started in a remote canyon in Stanislaus National Forest, in California. This portion of the central Sierra Nevada spans Tuolumne and Mariposa counties. The fire started on August 17, 2013, during the 2013 California wildfire season, and grew to be (at the time) the second-largest wildfire in California's recorded history and the largest recorded in the Sierra Nevada, having burned . , the Rim Fire was California's 11th-largest modern wildfire. The Rim Fire was fully contained on Thursday, October 24, 2013, after a nine-week suppression effort by firefighters. Due to a lack of winter rains, some logs smoldered in the interior portion of the fire footprint throughout the winter. More than a year passed before it was declared out on November 4, 2014.
The fire was caused by a hunter's illegal fire that got out of control, and it was named for its proximity to the Rim of the World vista point, a scenic overlook on Highway 120 leading up to Yosemite. A total of eleven residences, three commercial structures, and 98 outbuildings were destroyed in the fire. During suppression efforts, which cost more than $127 million (2013 USD), a total of ten injuries from the wildfire were reported, but there were no fatalities.
Fire progression
The fire was spotted and reported by a pilot on August 17, 2013, at 3:25PM PDT, in the Stanislaus National Forest, east of Groveland, when a hunter lost control of an illegal campfire. First responders arrived 22 minutes later. The camper was not identified publicly until a year later, when two felony and two misdemeanor charges were filed against Keith Matthew Emerald of Columbia, California. The charges against Emerald were dropped in 2015 when two key witnesses died. The fire had only burned 40 acres when it was discovered, but it grew to 10,000 acres within 36 hours and 100,000 acres after just four days. In two days, in mid-August, the fire burned nearly 90,000 acres. The fire's rapid spread was attributed to drought and extreme weather conditions. It burned into backcountry areas of Yosemite National Park. The park remained open, and although Yosemite Valley was never in danger, the fire did burn 78,895 acres of parkland. Heavy smoke was, at times, a factor.
The blaze was difficult to fight because of inaccessible terrain and erratic winds, forcing firefighters to be reactive instead of proactive. More than 5,000 firefighters–including more than 650 inmates who volunteered as part of California's "Conservation Camp initiative"–worked to contain the fire. At one point state officials asked residents to avoid social media, to stop exaggerated claims and rumors from spreading, and debunked a number of circulating stories.
Atmospheric instability, hot temperatures, and a severe drought fueled the fire, making it difficult to suppress. On Thursday, October 24, 2013, the Rim Fire was contained. However, hotspots within the fire's perimeter continued to burn for almost another year before the Rim Fire was finally declared to be extinguished.
Closures and evacuations
During the Rim Fire, forest closures were put into effect and evacuation orders were issued by the Tuolumne and Mariposa County County Sheriff's Offices. Several thousand people left their homes temporarily as a result of the evacuations. The Tioga Pass Road (Highway 120) was closed for a time. Highways 140 from Merced and 41 from Fresno remained open throughout the fire, providing access to the national park. Law Enforcement Command Posts were set up in the communities of Groveland and Tuolumne City, with hundreds of local and mutual aid Law Enforcement Officers from dozens of agencies responding to assist in evacuations, patrols, and road closures in the affected areas. The event is credited for being the single largest Law Enforcement mutual aid event in the history of the California Law Enforcement Mutual Aid System. At the height of the danger, an estimated 15,000 residents were under evacuation order or advisory, with plans drafted by a Search & Rescue Incident Management Team to evacuate the communities of Groveland, Pine Mountain Lake, Big Oak Flat, Tuolumne City, Tuolumne Rancheria, Ponderosa Hills, Sherwood Forest, Sugar Pine, and Miwuk Village. Several commendations and citations were issued by the county and state for these efforts to the Tuolumne County Sheriff's SAR Team, SAR Field Training Officer Jonathan Rodriguez, and Volunteer Tornado Paul Carlson.