Yosemite Wildfire Only 2 Percent Contained But Park Remains Open To Visitors; ‘Rim Fire’ Triples In Size, State Of Emergency Declared In California

The "Rim" wildfire has made its way to a section of Yosemite National Park on Friday, and only 2 percent of the blaze has been contained as it triples in size. California Governor Jerry Brown has declared a state of emergency, but Yosemite Park remains open to visitors.

According to data from the National Interagency Fire Center, the "Rim Fire" grew from 16,228 acres on Wednesday to 63,336 acres on Thursday, and crept towards Yosemite Park, US News reports.

NBC Bay Area reports that the total acreage of the "Rim Fire" so far is as much as 105,620 acres.

The cost to fight the blaze jumped to $5.4 million from $2.8 million the day before, according to US News.

California Department of Forestry and Fire Protection spokesman Daniel Berlant says the blaze threatens about 4,500 residences, USA Today reports.

"Most of the fire activity is pushing to the east right into Yosemite," Berlant said.

Fire crews from Oakland, Fremont, the East Bay Regional Parks District and Hayward fire departments added to personnel fighting the wildfire, according to the NICF, US News reports.

The U.S. Forest Service says 2,011 firefighters using nine helicopters are battling the fire, USA Today reports.

While Yosemite Park remains open, the wildfire caused the closure of a 4-mile stretch of State Route 120, one of three entrances into Yosemite on the west side, devastating areas that rely on tourism, NBC Bay Area reports.

"Usually during summer, it's swamped with tourists, you can't find parking downtown,'' said Christina Wilkinson, who runs Groveland's social media pages and lives in Pine Mountain Lake. "Now, the streets are empty. All we see is firefighters, emergency personnel and fire trucks.''

The Rim Fire threatens 2,500 structures in the surrounding areas.

The city of San Francisco on Thursday also officially declared a state of emergency.

This "Rim Fire" near Yosemite has destroyed two homes and seven outbuildings, but no one has been injured. It is among about 61 large fires burning nationwide.