Rim Fire Continues to Grow, Officials May Ask for Assistance from Pentagon [VIDEO]

The so-called Rim Fire burning through parts of Yosemite National Park and the Stanislaus National Forest in eastern central California continued to grow over the weekend as officials consider  asking the US government for reinforcements to help battle the blaze.

Firefighters made some progress battling the blaze along the western front, successfully establishing a line of control that should keep the flames from encroaching further towards the Highway 108 corridor. But the fire is still growing in the eastern and northeastern regions of the burn zone.

The fire grew by more than 8,000 acres between Saturday and Sunday, according to the latest report by the Incident Information System (InciWeb), the online system that keeps track of wildfires in the Western US. Afternoon winds up to 20 miles per hour pushed the fire north, according to Cal Fire Captain Mike Mohler, who spoke with the San Jose Mercury News.

Warm temperatures forecasted for Monday will do little to curtail the blaze.

"With the size of the fire and amount of ground we still have to cover, it's still a difficult fire," Mohler said. "We need Mother Nature to cooperate. Hopefully we'll turn the corner soon."

Already the fire has consumed 12,000 acres in Yosemite National Park, according to Reuters, but southerly winds have kept the iconic park relatively smoke free and the majority of it remains open to visitors. The parks website maintains an up-to-date listing of affected areas and closures.

With more than 2,800 people and numerous aerial extinguishing devices enlisted to fight the largest fire currently burning in California, resources are becoming strained. Last week fire management officials opened talks with the Pentagon about possible reinforcements, Reuters reported.

"The Rim incident is expected to continue to exhibit very large fire growth due to extremely dry fuels and inaccessible terrain. Rapid fire growth and extreme fire behavior and hampering suppression efforts," InciWeb stated in its most recent update on the fire.

The fire, which is fueled by brush, oak and pine, is only 7 percent contained.