Google Wildfire Map Helps Users Track Massive Yosemite Blaze (MAP)

In the search for the latest updates on California's Rim Fire -- already one of the largest in the state's history -- it seems good old Google Maps might be one of the best resources around.

Sourcing info from Cal Fire, Google's US Wildfires interactive crisis map offers critical details about the blaze and its ramifications:

Story continues after map...

The map features regular updates revealing the borders of the fire, which stretch over Hetch Hetchy Reservoir, Lake Eleanor and Cherry Lake to the northeast, and the forest beyond the towns of Tuolumne and Groveland to the west.

Importantly, users can explore the air quality of certain areas, too -- a useful tool, as parts of Nevada and California have been deemed unhealthy due to pollution from ash and smoke. For instance, the map reveals that, on Wednesday afternoon, air quality was unhealthy in the California cities of Auburn and Roseville, and unhealthy for sensitive groups in Tuolumne.

The map also reveals wind speed and direction, weather patterns and forecasts and containment levels, all crucial tools to combatting the blaze.

Check out the map above, and see photos of the Rim Fire in our slideshow below: