State of emergency in San Francisco
San Francisco’s water and electricity supply is under threat from a raging California wildfire burning in Yosemite National Park.
The Rim Fire has charred through 54,220 hectares, according to InciWeb, the online Incident Information System that monitors fires in the western US.
The fire is just seven per cent contained, InciWeb says, adding that it “remained fairly active overnight in most all divisions”, and exhibited “rapid rates of spread, torching and spotting” on its eastern edge.
More than 2,800 firefighters, supported by helicopters and air tankers, are struggling to contain the blaze, which started on August 17.
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Extremely dry conditions due to a prolonged drought, coupled with inaccessible terrain in the affected area, have exacerbated the severity of the incident.
Governor Jerry Brown has declared a state of emergency for San Francisco – which lies 320km to the west – because the Pacific coast city gets much of its electricity from the region affected by the fire.
The San Francisco water and power utility says the city has not so far seen any interruptions in service, though two hydroelectric plants have sustained damage.
The utility says it also has large reserves of water stored locally, which it will make available if the fire interrupts water delivery.
The fire broke out at Stanislaus National Park, which along with Yosemite is among the state’s main natural tourist attractions.
