California firefighters race to protect ancient sequoia trees as wildfire spreads

California firefighters race to protect ancient sequoia trees as wildfire spreads

Briefly

"Firefighters in California are racing to protect a historic grove of ancient giant sequoia trees in the Sierra national forest as the Garnet fire continues to spread through Fresno county. The Garnet fire, which began on 24 August and was caused by lightning, reached McKinley Grove on Monday, the US Forest Service said. The grove is home to about 170 giant sequoia trees, some estimated to be 2,000 years old, according to the non-profit Save the Redwoods."

"Videos released by the Forest Service on Monday show a low intensity fire moving through the grove, along with dense smoke and orange skies. While the fire reached the fire on Monday, officials said that while embers had ignited some branches, no sequoias had fully caught fire as of Monday afternoon. There is no crown fire within the grove, there are no trees fully on fire, these are embers that lofted into branches and have nestled in place, the forest service said."

"Crews had taken precautions well in advance, officials said, including the installation of a 24-hour sprinkler system around the grove and firefighting crews cleared heavy fuel buildup from around the trees. But despite these efforts, forest officials said: Several spot fires did get established north of McKinley Grove Road in and around the grove of Giant Sequoias. As of Monday afternoon, fire crews continued to work to contain these spots as well as employing aggressive firefighting tactics throughout the perimeter of the fire. Smokejumpers were also called in to climb affected trees and extinguish embers."