Rim Fire Update Aug. 31, 2013 (IMAGE) NASA/Goddard Space Flight Center Caption The nearly 220,000 acre fire is currently 35 percent contained and a new containment date of Oct. 20, 2013, has been set forth by fire officials. The fire burned about 300 acres an hour on average during the 24-hour span ending Wednesday evening (Aug. 28), down from 1,000 acres an hour the day before. At its peak the week before it was burning more than 3,000 acres an hour. The reason for the slowdown is as much weather related as anything else. Temperatures have cooled and the humidity has risen making the area not as much a tinder box as it had been earlier. Credit NASA image courtesy Jeff Schmaltz LANCE/EOSDIS MODIS Rapid Response Team, GSFC. Caption by Lynn Jenner with information from <a target="_blank" href="http://www.Inciweb.org">Inciweb.org</a>. Usage Restrictions None License Licensed content Disclaimer: AAAS and EurekAlert! are not responsible for the accuracy of news releases posted to EurekAlert! by contributing institutions or for the use of any information through the EurekAlert system.