California wildfire threatens San Francisco water supply, fires continue in Montana and Idaho

UPDATE, Sept. 3: The Associated Press reports that cooler conditions allowed crews to make major progress toward corralling the massive wildfire, which was 70% contained by late Monday, Sept. 2. Read more.

Aug. 29, 2013: The "Rim Fire" around Yosemite National Park is 30% contained and weather conditions appear to favor firefighters. But it could be as long as three weeks before the fire is surrounded and the blaze won't be out for many weeks after that. Learn why. Want to keep up with firefighting efforts? Visit the FireTracker (image above) created by KPCC (89.3 FM).

Aug. 28: The Rim Fire was 20% contained late Tuesday, but The Los Angeles Times also reported that the flames have moved farther into Yosemite National Park. The blaze is "burning its way into the record books," according to a spokesman for the California Department of Forestry and Fire Protection. Read more.

Aug. 25: The Western wildfire season continues to rage in California, with the Rim Fire posing a threat to a reservoir that supplies a majority of San Francisco's drinking water.

The massive blaze started Aug. 17 and has now burned 144,000 acres, including 11,000 acres of wilderness in Yosemite National Park. As of Sunday (Aug. 25) the fire was within several miles of the Hetch Hetchy Reservoir, which provides the majority of San Francisco's drinking water. (See graphic above from Bay Area Water Supply and Conservation Agency.)

City officials remain confident the fire can be kept at bay. Learn more from the Wall Street Journal.

Officials in Montana and Idaho, meanwhile, are seeing progress in their battles against wildfires, specifically the Lolo Creek and Gold Pan fires. Read stories in the Missoulian about how an evacuation order has been lifted for the Lolo Creek Fire but how officials say it will still require a "season-ending event" to completely end both fires.

Without question, it has been another difficult wildfire season in the West, with more than 500,000 acres burned in Idaho and the cost of fighting fires across the West now topping $1 billion. Given the size of the California fires and other ongoing Western fires, the season's cost will continue to close in on last year's record $1.9 billion price tag for fighting fires. Read more.

The ongoing cost of fighting wildfires makes improved management of forests a high priority. Read the latest letter from the Western Governors' Association to Agriculture Secretary Tom Vilsack on how forest management can be imporved.

Get the latest news of the West by following the Western Governors' Association on Twitter and Facebook.