Risk at Coast From Fire at Yosemite

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Homes and businesses were threatened as the fire burned through an area near Groveland, a community 25 miles from the entrance of Yosemite.

Gov. Jerry Brown of California declared a state of emergency for the city and county of San Francisco over the weekend, as a large wildfire near Yosemite National Park threatened water and electricity going to the area.

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The fire is approaching the Hetch Hetchy Reservoir, which delivers water in San Francisco and the surrounding region.

The fire could cause "temporary interruption" of water and electricity, Mr. Brown said on Friday, as reservoirs and hydroelectric plants were at risk.

The fire is approaching the Hetch Hetchy Reservoir, which delivers water to about 2.6 million customers in San Francisco and the surrounding region.

By early afternoon on Saturday, the fires had not yet had any effect on the region's water supply, the San Francisco Public Utilities Commission said in a statement. Crews continued to inspect power lines in affected areas, but no damage had been reported, the statement said.

The so-called Rim Fire is northwest of the national park and began several days ago. It now covers 125,000 acres and is only 5 percent contained, said Daniel Berlant, a spokesman for the California Department of Forestry and Fire Protection, said Saturday. About 4,500 homes are threatened in Tuolumne City and Ponderosa Hills, he said, and the fire continues "to burn very actively."

The fire would continue to move toward the homes through Sunday, Mr. Berlant said, pushed by strong winds out of the south.

"Firefighters are staging and are preparing to make a stand," he said. "There is definitely concern."

Scott Gediman, a spokesman for the National Park Service, said officials were taking "precautionary measures" to protect two groves of giant sequoias about four miles from the fire. The trees, which are some of the tallest and oldest living things on the planet, are not in imminent danger, he said. Officials said the park remained open to visitors.

Aerial photographs of the Rim Fire showed thick plumes of smoke blanketing large swaths of the Sierra Nevada, as more than 2,000 firefighters worked to contain the blaze and helicopters dropped huge buckets of water onto the flames.

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