The so-called Rim Fire on the edge of Yosemite National Park has scorched an area the size of Chicago near one of the world's natural wonders. So far, it doesn't threaten Yosemite Valley, but it has endangered hydroelectric plants on the O'Shaughnessy Dam in the Hetch-Hetchy Valley, as well as power lines leading to San Francisco. Governor Jerry Brown has declared states of emergency for Tuolumne County and San Francisco. Robert Righter is a research professor at Southern Methodist University and the author of The Battle over Hetch Hetchy: America's Most Controversial Dam -- and the Birth of Modern Environmentalism.
KCRW
