Three Rivers: Hot, dry weather on Sunday added to the challenges facing California firefighters, who are battling to keep the flames moving from moving forward to a grove of ancient sequoias where the world’s tallest tree bases is wrapped in protective foil.
Fire officials warned that strong winds were also contributing to a “severe fire situation” in the area. KNP ComplexTwo electric sparks merged on the western edge of Sequoia National Park in the Sierra Nevada.
NS National Weather Service A red flag warning was issued through Sunday, saying thunderstorms and low humidity could create conditions for rapid wildfire spread.
Fires last week forced the evacuation of the park, as well as parts of Three Rivers, a foothill community of about 2,500 people. The crew are bulldozing a line between the fire and the community.
Over 34 square miles (88 sq km) of forest land has been blackened.
NS National Park Service Flames had reached the western end of Giant Forest, where it scorched a group of sequoias known as the “Four Guardsmen” that mark the entrance to a grove of 2,000 sequoias, it said on Friday.
Firefighters wrapped the base of the General Sherman Tree, along with other trees in Giant Forest, in a type of aluminum that can withstand high heat. Fire spokeswoman Katy Hooper said Saturday that it was not immediately known how Four Guardsmen, who received equal treatment, fared.
According to the National Park Service, the General Sherman Tree is the largest in the world by volume at 52,508 cubic feet (1,487 cubic meters). It is 275 feet (84 m) high and has a circumference of 103 feet (31 m) at ground level.
Hooper said firefighters who were wrapping the base of the sequoia in foil and sweeping leaves and needles from the forest floor around the trees had to flee the danger Friday. Hooper said he returned Saturday when the situation improved to continue work and a strategic fire began on Generals Highway to protect Giant Forest Grove.
Giant sequoias are adapted for fire, which can help them thrive by releasing seeds from their cones and creating clearings that allow young sequoias to develop. But the extraordinary intensity of fires – caused by climate change – can take a toll on trees.
“Once you light a fire inside the tree, it will lead to mortality,” said John Wallace, KNP Complex’s operations section chief.
The fire has already burned several trees over 200 feet (61 m) feet high and 2,000 years old.
To the south, wind fires increased to 28 square miles (72 sq km) on the Tule River Indian Reservation and in Giant Sequoia National Monument, where it’s burnt peron Grove of Sequoia and threatens the others.
The fire also reached Long Meadow Grove, where the Trail of 100 Giant Sequoias is a National Monument. Fire officials are yet to determine how much damage has been done to the groves, which are in remote and inaccessible areas.
The historic drought linked to climate change is making it harder to fight wildfires. It has killed millions of trees in California alone. Scientists say climate change has made the West much hotter and drier over the past 30 years and will make the weather more extreme and wildfires more frequent and destructive.
According to the California Department of Forestry and Fire Protection, more than 7,000 wildfires have damaged or destroyed more than 3,000 homes and other buildings in California this year and engulfed more than 3,000 square miles (7,770 sq km) of land. has given.
Fire officials warned that strong winds were also contributing to a “severe fire situation” in the area. KNP ComplexTwo electric sparks merged on the western edge of Sequoia National Park in the Sierra Nevada.
NS National Weather Service A red flag warning was issued through Sunday, saying thunderstorms and low humidity could create conditions for rapid wildfire spread.
Fires last week forced the evacuation of the park, as well as parts of Three Rivers, a foothill community of about 2,500 people. The crew are bulldozing a line between the fire and the community.
Over 34 square miles (88 sq km) of forest land has been blackened.
NS National Park Service Flames had reached the western end of Giant Forest, where it scorched a group of sequoias known as the “Four Guardsmen” that mark the entrance to a grove of 2,000 sequoias, it said on Friday.
Firefighters wrapped the base of the General Sherman Tree, along with other trees in Giant Forest, in a type of aluminum that can withstand high heat. Fire spokeswoman Katy Hooper said Saturday that it was not immediately known how Four Guardsmen, who received equal treatment, fared.
According to the National Park Service, the General Sherman Tree is the largest in the world by volume at 52,508 cubic feet (1,487 cubic meters). It is 275 feet (84 m) high and has a circumference of 103 feet (31 m) at ground level.
Hooper said firefighters who were wrapping the base of the sequoia in foil and sweeping leaves and needles from the forest floor around the trees had to flee the danger Friday. Hooper said he returned Saturday when the situation improved to continue work and a strategic fire began on Generals Highway to protect Giant Forest Grove.
Giant sequoias are adapted for fire, which can help them thrive by releasing seeds from their cones and creating clearings that allow young sequoias to develop. But the extraordinary intensity of fires – caused by climate change – can take a toll on trees.
“Once you light a fire inside the tree, it will lead to mortality,” said John Wallace, KNP Complex’s operations section chief.
The fire has already burned several trees over 200 feet (61 m) feet high and 2,000 years old.
To the south, wind fires increased to 28 square miles (72 sq km) on the Tule River Indian Reservation and in Giant Sequoia National Monument, where it’s burnt peron Grove of Sequoia and threatens the others.
The fire also reached Long Meadow Grove, where the Trail of 100 Giant Sequoias is a National Monument. Fire officials are yet to determine how much damage has been done to the groves, which are in remote and inaccessible areas.
The historic drought linked to climate change is making it harder to fight wildfires. It has killed millions of trees in California alone. Scientists say climate change has made the West much hotter and drier over the past 30 years and will make the weather more extreme and wildfires more frequent and destructive.
According to the California Department of Forestry and Fire Protection, more than 7,000 wildfires have damaged or destroyed more than 3,000 homes and other buildings in California this year and engulfed more than 3,000 square miles (7,770 sq km) of land. has given.
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