Good morning. Good to be with you. Im annemarie green. Well, california governor jerry brown declared a state of emergency after a wild fire burning just outside Yosemite National park nearly quadrupled in size. It is one of 55 major wildfires burning in ten western states. The fire near yosemite called the rim fire exploded yesterday. Its burned more than 99 square miles and is only 1 contained. The park remains open, but one access road has been cut off and residents of more than 1,000 homes have been advised to evacuate. Theresa garcia reports from near the fire lines. Reporter stands of cedar and pine exploded as the flames jumped from tree top to tree top moving faster than the crew fighting them. U. S. Forest service officer, lee bentley. We have a monster on our hands. This fire is making its own weather. Its going every which direction. This is one of the worst ive ever been on. Ive been doing it quite a few years. Reporter the fire threatens hotels, camp grounds and more than
Firefighters battling a National Wildfire in yosemite on high alert. The california rim fire is now the largest in history. This morning, firefighters are being told to protect yosemite at all costs. Nbcs jay gray is near the wildfire in tuolumne, california. What are the challenges they are seeing today . Reporter good morning. The same as theyve been. Rugged terrain, high winds. Like so many in the area on edge as the rim fire winds gusted. As the fire continues to grow this morning, so does the army of teams pouring into the Northern California mountains to battle the massive blaze. All day every day. All night long. So were up to more than 2800 personnel on the fire. Its the number one fire in the country right now so theyre giving us what we need. Reporter air strikes, hotshots along the leading edge of the flames. And heavy equipment digging out fire lines, moving out dried trees and other potential fuel for the flames. Were trying to save the public, save these dwellings and hou