WHEN Abraham Lincoln signed the Yosemite Grant in 1864, he could not have foreseen that the gesture would spark an environmental renaissance across America, resulting in 59 stunning National Parks today.

Hundreds of firefighters have been deployed to protect mountain communities in the path of a fire raging north of Yosemite National Park.

A giant wildfire raging out of control in the US has grown to nearly 200 square miles and spread into Yosemite National Park, as California Governor Jerry Brown declared a state of emergency for the city of San Francisco 150 miles away because of the threat to the city’s utilities.