A massive wildfire that has charred the northwest edge of Yosemite National Park in California has sent smoke into a scenic and previously unaffected area, obscuring views of popular landmarks on Saturday for tourists who visited the area.

The smoke from the fire, which broke out two weeks ago, spread to the area during a holiday weekend that in the past years has seen the park fill with visitors.

Shifting winds brought heavy smoke from the so-called Rim Fire to Yosemite Valley, an area famed for its towering granite rock formations, waterfalls and pine forests, according to the park’s website and footage from cameras posted on the site that showed smoky conditions.

Yosemite Valley has been open to visitors and largely smoke free in recent weeks, but a park official said smoke began wafting into the area late on Friday. It also reached the Wawona area to the south, the park’s website said.

The Rim Fire had charred nearly 89,000 hectares by early yesterday. Most of the damage was in the Stanislaus National Forest which spreads out from Yosemite’s western edge. The blaze has blackened about six per cent of Yosemite’s wilder backcountry, said National Park Service Director Jonathan Jarvis.

The Rim Fire was 40 per cent contained on Saturday afternoon, up from 35 percent earlier in the day.

Shifting winds bring heavy smoke to the valley

“We are moving in the right direction,” said Trevor Augustino, spokesman for the US Fire Service at Rim Fire command centre.

Flames early on Saturday were heading toward two groves of the park’s famed sequoia trees, Jarvis said.