A devastating wildfire that has for weeks torched hundreds of thousands of acres within Sierra Nevada forests and engulfed more than a hundred buildings is nearing complete containment, a U.S. Forest Service spokesperson said Thursday.
The Rim Fire began on Aug. 17 from an illegal campfire that escaped control of an unnamed hunter who sparked it, a team of investigators from the forest service and Tuolumne County District Attorney’s office reported last week.
Tuolumne County District Attorney Michael Knowles did not return phone calls Thursday to release the hunter’s name or say if he will face criminal charges for sparking what has become the third-largest wildfire in California history.
Since its beginning about 45 miles north of Oakhurst, the blaze has claimed 255,560 acres — about 67,000 within Yosemite National Park — and scorched an additional 200 acres from Wednesday night to Thursday morning...