Officials say a wildfire in the western state of California is
threatening thousands of homes and the entrance to a world-famous
national park.
The so-called Telegraph Fire has burned almost
12,000 hectares, destroying 25 homes since it began Friday. California
officials say another 4,000 homes are in danger, and that hundreds of
people have been forced to evacuate.
The flames also forced
officials to close down Highway 140, that leads to the main
entrance to Yosemite National Park.
Officials say the park is
open, although the fire caused some of the park's facilities to lose
electricity, and some visitors have decided to leave.
Firefighters
say they did get some help from a brief spate of cooler weather, but
forecasters say temperatures are expected to rise in coming days.
More than 3,400 firefighters have been battling the blaze, which officials say is now 10 percent contained.
Officials say area residents appear to have started the fire when they were target shooting Friday.
California has been battling a series of wildfires since June.
Officials say dry weather and steep, hilly terrain has made containing many of the fires more difficult.
Some information for this report was provided by AP and Reuters.
