A California wildfire near Yosemite National Park is threatening a major San Francisco water source, power supplies and some of the Golden State’s giant sequoia trees.
More than 8,000 firefighters across 400 square miles are battling
the raging wildlife, which is already one of the largest in
California state history. Since the blaze ignited on Aug. 17, the
fire has consumed about 225 square miles of forests and is only
about 7 percent contained, according to state officials.
The Rim Fire is fast approaching the Hetch Hetchy Reservoir,
which supplies water to 2.6 million customers in the San
Francisco Bay Area, thereby making up 85 percent of the city’s
water supply.
The edge of the fire was only five miles away from the reservoir
early Monday morning. Ash from the fire is falling
onto the reservoir and a haze of smoke has caused limited
visibility at the reservoir. Officials at the city’s Public
Utilities Commissions have ensured residents that the quality of
their drinking water is still good and that it also has a large
supply of water stored in local reservoirs.
“We are monitoring water quality every minute of each day to
ensure its quality and safety,” the utility said in a press
release posted on its website.
But a polluted water supply is not San Francisco’s only concern:
the Rim Fire could also affect the city’s electricity supply if
it damages the power system near the reservoir. The Public
Utilities Commission has already shut down two out of three of
its hydroelectric power stations near Hetch Hetchy and the
utility has spent $600,000 buying power on the open market.
California Gov. Jerry Brown has declared a state of emergency for
San Francisco due to the threat to the city’s water and
electricity supplies.
“This fire has continued to pose every challenge that there
can be on a fire,” Daniel Berlant, a spokesman with the
California Department of Forestry and Fire Protection, told Fox
News. “It’s a very difficult firefight.”
The wildfire is also racing toward two unique groves of giant
sequoias — one of three species of coniferous trees known as
redwoods. These prized redwoods are the world’s largest single
trees. The oldest known giant sequoia, which is based in
California, is about 3,500 years in age.
“All of the plants and trees in Yosemite are important, but
the giant sequoias are incredibly important both for what they
are and as symbols of the National Park System,” park
spokesman Scott Gediman told the Associated Press.
Even though thousands of firefighters are battling the blaze and
the federal government provided financial assistance to mobilize
further firefighting resources, the Incident Information System
monitoring website InciWeb says the fire “is expected to
continue to exhibit very large fire growth due to extremely dry
fuels and inaccessible terrain.”
Strong winds gusting up to 50 mph are currently threatening to
push the flames closer to Tuolumne City, a community located just
outside of Yosemite National Park.
“Winds are increasing, so it’s going to be very
challenging,” Bjorn Frederickson, spokesman for the US Forest
Service, told KTVU.
Republished from: RT