Rim Fire Webcam View #5

The Rim Fire raging on the Stanislaus National Forest in Tuolumne County, CA, is now exploding in breathtaking fashion. The community of Pine Mountain Lake is under the gun and a major fight to save it is about to begin. As of this morning this fire had jumped from over 16,000 acres yesterday to over 53,000 acres but given what is seen here it is surely much larger than that all the while creating its own weather including pyrocumulus clouds. This view was captured at 4:11 p.m.