An out-of-control wildfire burning Sunday near an entrance to Yosemite National Park in California destroyed eight homes and threatened thousands more as flames forced authorities to cut power to the park.

The blaze has charred more than 72 square kilometres since Friday as wooded slopes ignited amid hot, dry conditions that have plagued California for months. The fire was 16 per cent contained Sunday afternoon.

In Southern California, about 4,000 visitors were evacuated Sunday from the Los Angeles zoo as a fast-moving brush fire burned nearby in Griffith Park.

Flames came within about 300 metres of a California condor enclosure in the park, forcing the relocation of the condors and two vultures, zoo spokesman Jason Jacobs said.

The fire had burned about eight to 12 hectares and was 80 per cent contained, Los Angeles fire officials said, and no injuries were reported.

Meanwhile, near Yosemite National Park, the wildfire led officials to order the evacuations of 195 homes under immediate threat. About 2,000 homes faced at least some danger from the fast-spreading flames, fire officials said. No injuries were reported.

State fire spokeswoman Karen Guillemin said the fire was sparked by someone target shooting but would not elaborate.

Most of the evacuated homes are in the town of Midpines, about 19 kilometres from the park. The southern edge of the blaze was as little as three kilometres from Mariposa, a town of about 1,800 residents, said Daniel Berlant, spokesman for the California Department of Forestry and Fire Protection.

Mary Ann Porter, a nursing assistant who lives in Midpines, left her goats, chickens and dog when she evacuated her home Sunday morning.

Porter, who lives with her daughter and grandchildren, said the family took pictures and some computer hard drives with them.

"One of the blessings of living up here is that you adapt and learn to accept things," she said, sitting a table reading a newspaper in the evacuation centre in Mariposa.

Firefighters cut power to protect themselves

To protect firefighters battling flames beneath power lines, electricity was cut to a wide area, fire officials said. The transmission line that fed power to Yosemite was also destroyed in the fire, said James Guidi Jr., a spokesman for Pacific Gas & Electric.

Some park buildings were closed because of the power outage, but generators were still providing hotels, stores and other heavily used park facilities with electricity, park spokeswoman Julie Chavez said.

Mobile generators were being set up to restore power to the whole park and about 500 customers nearby by Monday evening. In all, about 1,000 customers had lost power, Guidi said.

Authorities reported the death of a second firefighter in as many days.

A firefighter believed to be a fire chief from Washington state died Saturday while scouting a blaze in Northern California, Siskiyou County Sheriff's Department spokeswoman Susan Gravenkamp said Sunday.

The one-square-kilometre fire had prevented crews from recovering the body to make a positive identification, but several other firefighters identified the victim as Daniel Packer, 49, of Lake Tapps, Wash., Gravenkamp said.

On Friday, Washington state firefighter Andrew Palmer, 18, died after he was hit by a falling tree while battling another Northern California wildfire.