Rim Fire Update

Looking west at the Rim Fire from near the Tioga Pass Rd. at dusk, with Venus setting, 8:57 p.m., 8/22/13, Yosemite NP, CA, USA
Last night my wife Claudia and I made an epic bushwhack to a dome near the Tioga Pass Road with a view of the Rim Fire. This is a two-image stitched panorama, looking west toward the Central Valley, with Venus setting on the left. Each frame was 30 seconds long.
This fire is growing at an alarming rate. It doubled in size yesterday, and as of this morning it was listed as over 105,000 acres. That already makes it the 19th-largest fire in California history. The Rim Fire crossed the western boundary of Yosemite National Park yesterday between Camp Mather and Eleanor Lake.
So far most of Yosemite hasn’t been affected. The smoke has been blowing north, away from the park. The biggest affect is the closure of Highway 120 outside the park, but there are alternate routes.
Let’s hope that growth slows down!
— Michael Frye