WEB NEWS - USA: online tools to monitor Yosemite wildfire

Today on the net: online tools monitoring the Yosemite wildfire in the US; Zimbabwe’s "Disneyland" project sparks lively debate; and a British man helps a teddy bear beat the skydiving record.<br />USA: online tools to monitor Yosemite wildfire<br />These images are both terrifying and captivating: we see the rapid growth of the massive wildfire, the so called “Rim Fire”, which began over two weeks ago in California. The time-lapse video was produced by officials at Yosemite, stitched together from webcam footage around the national park.<br />Information on how the fire is spreading is available online. Local radio station KPCC has put together this web page which updates figures on a daily basis detailing the scale of damage as well as information on what is being done to contain the flames, with some 5,000 firefighters and 30 or so helicopters battling the blaze on Sunday.<br />This interactive map, created by the site Esri.com compiles this data in real time so viewers can visualize how the fire is progressing, shown here in red, and also the areas under threat, like the Hetch Hetchy reservoir, which provides San Francisco’s water supply.<br />But as we can see from these photos posted to social networks, tourists and visitors have not been deterred by the wildfire and have continued to come to the park, as only some parts had been closed off to the public. Up until this weekend that is when smoke blanketed Yosemite Valley, the park’s main tourist area.<br />The Yosemite National Park has posted a message to its website urging visitors to be extremely careful, and advising them to avoid physical activities outdoors.<br />Zimbabwe’s "Disneyland" project stir... Go on reading on our web site.<br />http://www.france24.com/en/taxonomy/emission/18008<br /><br />Visit our website:<br />http://www.france24.com<br /><br />Like us on Facebook:<br />https://www.facebook.com/FRANCE24.English<br /><br />Follow us on Twitter:<br />https://twitter.com/France24_en