Wildfire Threatens San Francisco Power Grid

A massive wildfire in northern California
has swallowed up the western edge of
Yosemite National Park and is
threatening the city of San Francisco's
water and power supplies.

More than 2,600 firefighters are battling
the blaze, which is burning across about
52,000 hectares and threatens 5,500
homes. Some towns have issued
voluntary evacuations.

The governor of California called a state
of emergency Friday for the city of San
Francisco, which is about 240
kilometers away from the raging inferno.

Two hydroelectric plants in the area
were shut down due to the fire.
Dozens of fires are burning across
several western U.S. states. The fires
sprawl from the southern state of
Arizona to the northern state of
Washington, and even up to Alaska.
The U.S. Forest Service says 31,986
wildfires have burned 1.4 million
hectares in the United States this year.

At this time last year, fires had burned
2.4 million hectares.