California firefighters start to tame Yosemite blaze
Authorities remain concerned about threat toreservoir that supplies water to San Francisco
Firefighters in California have reported progress in containing a massive wildfire threatening Yosemite National Park and a reservoir that supplies most of San Francisco's water.
Although ash from the fire reached the Hetch Hetchy reservoir, 274 kilometres east of the city, which serves about 2.6 million people, crews said they were confident the reservoir's infrastructure could be protected. Nonetheless, city officials were busy planning how to divert water from other sources in case fallout from the blaze was to foul the Hetch Hetchy.
The so-called rim fire, the 13th largest in state history, which closed the road into one of the country's top tourist destinations, is now 20 per cent contained, the Los Angeles Times reported, quoting Yosemite fire chief Kelly Martin. That was up from 7 per cent on Sunday.
The blaze has charred nearly 65,000 hectares - including about 8,000 hectares inside the park - and destroyed at least 23 structures, the California Department of Forestry and Fire Protection said.
Crews dropped flame retardants on vulnerable areas. The fire is also threatening two groves of giant sequoia trees and historical structures in the park.