Yosemite Fire: Fire Crews Make 'Major Progress, Cooler conditions have allowed firefighters to make major progress containing a massive wildfire threatening the edge of Yosemite National Park.
The California Department of Forestry and Fire Protection said the Rim Fire was now 70% contained, up from 45% just 24 hours earlier.
The vast blaze now covers 368 square miles and is not expected to be fully under control until September 20.
Temperatures in the area are still above 32C and gusting winds are still producing favourable conditions for the blaze.Fire crews have continued to build fire lines and have burned away potential fuel sources overnight.
State fire spokesman Daniel Berlant said: "We do have a nice window here of more cooperative weather."
Andrea Capps, a spokeswoman for the Rim Fire command centre, said: "It's looking really good over there right now.
"The majority of the containment lines will probably be really strong by the middle, end of this week, but they just want to give themselves enough time to make sure it's fully contained."
The risk of the fire spreading again could rise later in the week with dryer conditions expected.
The Rim Fire began on August 17 in the Stanislaus National Forest. The cause is still under investigation.
So far 111 buildings - 11 of them homes - have been destroyed by the blaze, which is the fourth largest in California history. Another 4,500 buildings are under threat.
More than 4,600 firefighters have been battling the blaze. Five people have been injured.
Hundreds of cattle are thought to have been killed or displaced by the fire, the San Francisco Chronicle reported.
