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Rim Fire: Yosemite wildfire now 7th largest in California history (map, photos)
U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service firefighter Corey Adams sits on a tree stump as he monitors the Rim Fire on August 25, 2013 near Groveland, California. The Rim Fire continues to burn out of control and threatens 4,500 homes outside of Yosemite National Park. Over 2,000 firefighters are battling the blaze that has entered a section of Yosemite National Park and is currently 7 percent contained.
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Justin Sullivan/Getty Images
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A structure at a campground burns after being consumed by the Rim Fire on August 25, 2013 near Groveland, California. The Rim Fire continues to burn out of control and threatens 4,500 homes outside of Yosemite National Park. Over 2,000 firefighters are battling the blaze that has entered a section of Yosemite National Park and is currently 7 percent contained.
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Justin Sullivan/Getty Images
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A burned car sits on the side of the road after being consumed by the Rim Fire on August 25, 2013 near Groveland, California. The Rim Fire continues to burn out of control and threatens 4,500 homes outside of Yosemite National Park. Over 2,000 firefighters are battling the blaze that has entered a section of Yosemite National Park and is currently 7 percent contained.
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Justin Sullivan/Getty Images
)
Trees burned by the Rim Fire stand on August 25, 2013 in Yosemite National Park, California. The Rim Fire continues to burn out of control and threatens 4,500 homes outside of Yosemite National Park. Over 2,000 firefighters are battling the blaze that has entered a section of Yosemite National Park and is currently 7 percent contained.
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Justin Sullivan/Getty Images
)
Crews made some progress overnight on the aggressive wildfire burning in parts of Yosemite National Park and Stanislaus National Forest, increasing containment to 20 percent.
But the aggressive wildfire burning in Tuolomne County increased to 179,481 acres, surpassing the 1977 Marble Cone Fire that burned about 177,000 acres in Monterey County.
To date, the largest fire recorded in California was the Cedar Fire, which burned more than 273,000 acres in San Diego County in 2003. That fire also destroyed nearly 3,000 buildings, many of them residences.
The Rim Fire has so far burned 31 residences, according to the latest information posted to the California Department of Forestry and Fire Protection's incident website.
NASA and NOAA have released an image showing the expanse of the fire from space. NPR shared the image, taken at night and showing the fire's perimeter to be as bright as San Francisco:
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This image was taken by the Suomi NPP satellite's Day-Night Band around 0950Z on August 23, 2013. | Credit: NASA/NOAA
Our orbit took us directly over California's Rim Fire about an hour ago. Devastating. August 26. pic.twitter.com/sCYXZPZTWq
— Karen L. Nyberg (@AstroKarenN) August 26, 2013
NASA also posted this image showing the progress of the Rim Fire into Yosemite:
Governor Jerry Brown has spoken with President Obama about federal funding.
"He expressed his support — whatever we need, he'll provide. So between the state and the federal government and local officials, we'll get it done," Brown said.
Ash from the fire has been raining down on the main reservoir that supplies San Francisco. David Briggs with the San Francisco water system says there are contingency plans if the water is tainted.
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"The biggest source of our water comes from Yosemite National Park in the Hetch Hetchy Watershed where about 85 percent of our water is derived. If fire were to propagate into the watershed, there would be concerns for us — primarily water quality-related," Briggs said.
Fire officials, however, do not expect water or power disruptions. The fire has burned 280 square miles over the past week and a half.
View Rim Fire in a larger map | Last updated 8/26/13
This story has been updated.
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