US wildfire rains ash on reservoir

Written By Unknown on Selasa, 27 Agustus 2013 | 19.16

27 August 2013 Last updated at 07:50 ET
Fire at California's Yosemite National Park

Please turn on JavaScript. Media requires JavaScript to play.

Footage shows the burning remains of an abandoned tourist camp, as Alastair Leithead reports

A huge fire in and around California's Yosemite National Park has continued to spread and now covers almost 250 sq miles (650 sq km), officials say.

The Rim Fire is now raining ash on a key reservoir that supplies water and hydro-electric power to San Francisco.

City officials say they are moving water to lower reservoirs and monitoring supplies for contamination.

The blaze is also threatening thousands of homes and some of California's renowned giant sequoia trees.

Officials say the fire is 20% contained after burning for more than a week - up from 2% containment on Friday.

Strong winds are making the fires more difficult to control.

"This fire has continued to pose every challenge that there can be on a fire," said Daniel Berlant of the California Department of Forestry and Fire Protection.

The blaze began on 17 August in the Stanislaus National Forest from a still unknown cause.

Fire engine

Please turn on JavaScript. Media requires JavaScript to play.

Trevor Augustine from Unified Rim Fire Command Group outlines the conditions facing fire crews

Some 3,680 firefighters are tackling the flames in difficult terrain.

Evacuations, some voluntary and some mandatory, are taking place. Despite the threat to some 5,000 homes, only a few have been destroyed.

California Governor Jerry Brown has declared a state of emergency for San Francisco 150 miles (220km) away as the blaze is also threatening power lines that bring electricity to the city.

Ash is said to be falling like snow on the Hetch Hetchy reservoir, which supplies San Francisco with 85% of its water. Visibility in the smoke-ridden area is down to 100ft (30m), but officials say the water quality is still good.

"The water we are receiving is still of good quality,'' said Harlan Kelly Jr, general manager of the city's Public Utilities Commission.

"We're bringing down as much water as possible and replenishing all of the local reservoirs."

Continue reading the main story

Two of three hydroelectric power stations serving the city were shut down, forcing the San Francisco Public Utilities Commission to spend $600,000 (£385,000) buying power on the open market.

The blaze reached the park's backcountry at Lake Eleanor on Friday. But it remains some 20 miles away from Yosemite's main tourist area.

The park authorities say they have no plans to close the attraction as most of Yosemite, which hosts up to 15,000 visitors a day in the summer, is unaffected by the fire.

Areas on the north-western edge of the park, including that round the Hetch Hetchy reservoir and Lake Eleanor, have been closed throughout the week.

A stretch of motorway, Highway 120, which is one of three entrances to the west side of the park, remains closed. Visitors are being urged to use alternative routes from the west.

The Rim Fire is one of 50 major wildfires burning in the western US. Lack of rain and snow have made it a bad year, with 5,700 fires being tackled so far.

The Beaver Creek fire in Idaho has destroyed some 45,000 hectares near the ski resort of Sun Valley.

Meanwhile, five wildfires in Yellowstone National Park have scorched about 18 sq miles of mostly remote areas.

Send your pictures and videos to yourpics@bbc.co.uk or text them to 61124 (UK) or +44 7624 800 100 (International). If you have a large file you can upload here.

Read the terms and conditions


Anda sedang membaca artikel tentang

US wildfire rains ash on reservoir

Dengan url

http://worldartikelku.blogspot.com/2013/08/us-wildfire-rains-ash-on-reservoir.html

Anda boleh menyebar luaskannya atau mengcopy paste-nya

US wildfire rains ash on reservoir

namun jangan lupa untuk meletakkan link

US wildfire rains ash on reservoir

sebagai sumbernya

0 komentar:

Posting Komentar

techieblogger.com Techie Blogger Techie Blogger