Firefighters Begin to Leave as Containment on the Rim Fire Reaches 60%

Firefighters have now battled the Rim Fire to sixty percent containment, in California.

The fire has burnt over two hundred and twenty-nine thousand acres, including forty-nine thousand in Yosemite National Park.

Over five thousand firefighters had been battling the blaze, but their numbers have now been lowered to forty-six hundred.

One hundred and eleven buildings, including thirty-one homes, have been lost to the flames.

Forty-five hundred homes and a thousand other buildings lie with a mandatory evacuation area, that is threatened by the blaze.

Hopes are that continued containment will allow for some evacuations to be lifted soon.

Winds continue to drown nearby towns in smoke, making breathing difficult.

However, the winds changed directions, blowing the fire back on itself, that combined with lower temperatures and higher humidity aided in battling the fire.

Yosemite National Park has remained opened, the main part of the park lies more than twenty miles away and authorities say that it is not in any danger.