Marin Firefighters Help Battle Out of Control Fire Near Yosemite

Four San Rafael firefighters are among the dozens of Marin firefighters who were dispatched Wednesday night to fight a blaze burning out of control near Yosemite National Park, according to San Rafael Fire Chief Chris Gray.

The blaze, called the Rim Fire, had spread to 53,000 acres and is threatening 2,500 structures, according to the Modesto Bee.

The San Rafael personnel were among the more than 60 firefighters from Marin County at wild land fires in California, according to the Marin Independent Journal. Many of the firefighters, as well as 12 fire engines, were dispatched to the Rim Fire.

According to the IJ, the dispatched crews include:

•  26 firefighters from the county fire department
• Five from the Novato Fire Department
• Five from the Southern Marin Fire Department
• Four from the San Rafael Fire Department
• Four from the Kentfield Fire Department
• Four from the Ross Valley Fire Department
• Four from the Tiburon Fire Department
• Three from the Marinwood Fire Department
• Three from the Larkspur Fire Department
• Three from the Corte Madera Fire Department

Gray said the San Rafael’s fire stations “remain fully staffed and on alert.”

More than 1,300 firefighters are battling the Rim Fire, which is located in Stanislaus National Forest west of Yosemite and has moved up Cherry Creek and the Tuolumne River Canyon, according to news reports.

Details about the location of the fire, which is 2 percent contained, can be found here on inciweb.org.

There are more than 7,000 firefighters fighting the roughly 12 large fires across California. The blazes have burned more than 110,000 acres, according to the IJ.

The Rim Fire is one of the more than 50 active, large wildfires in the western U.S. Other blazes are burning in California, Oregon, Washington, Idaho, Montana, Wyoming, Nevada, Utah and Arizona.