US wildfires reach 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.

The fire hit the park at the height of summer season, as officials geared up for a busy holiday weekend. It has closed some backcountry hiking but was not threatening the Yosemite Valley region, one of California’s most popular tourist destinations that features such famous sights as the Half Dome and El Capitan rock formations and Bridalveil and Yosemite falls.