Calif. governor extends state of emergency to San Francisco

By Los Angeles Times

The growing Rim fire near the northern side of Yosemite National Park prompted Gov. Jerry Brown on Friday night to extend a state of emergency to include the city and county of San Francisco because of a threat to utilities.

The Rim fire burns near the Yosemite National Park border in Tuolumne County. (NOAH BERGER, EPA / August 23, 2013)

The blaze has burned 125,620 acres, threatens thousands of structures and is only 5% contained, according to the U.S. Forest Service’s incident information website.

The governor on Thursday declared a state of emergency in Tuolumne County, where the blaze is burning.

On Friday, the governor’s declaration said the wildfire has caused damage to electrical infrastructure serving the city and county of San Francisco.

The San Francisco Public Utilities Commission has been forced to shut down transmission lines, and the city and county could face further damage to water and electrical assets, which could result in the interruption of those services, according to the governor's declaration.