Sequoia National Park's giant trees at risk as fires grow

SEQUOIA NATIONAL PARK, Calif. – Fire crews moved to ramp up the conflict Wednesday against 2 expanding wood fires threatening Sequoia National Park’s elephantine sequoia trees and infrastructure.

The Colony and Paradise fires, ignited by lightning strikes past week, covered astir 14 quadrate miles (36 quadrate kilometers) successful California’s steep Sierra Nevada.

The Colony Fire was a menace to Giant Forest, location to much than 2,000 sequoias, but not imminently, said Mark Ruggiero, occurrence accusation serviceman for Sequoia and Kings Canyon nationalist parks.

The fires are among the latest successful a agelong summertime of blazes that person scorched much than 3,500 quadrate miles (9,065 quadrate kilometers) successful California, destroying hundreds of homes.

Sequoia National Park has been closed and its office and nonmigratory employees person been evacuated, on with a information of the assemblage of Three Rivers extracurricular the entrance.

The park’s historical woody entranceway motion dating to 1935 was covered successful fire-resistant wrapping, and hoses were successful spot astatine the office country for operation protection.

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More than 300 firefighters were connected the lines, aided by helicopters and aerial tankers erstwhile fume conditions allowed. On Thursday, a nationalist interagency absorption squad volition instrumentality implicit the fires, being managed collectively arsenic the KNP complex, and adjacent much resources are expected, Ruggiero said.

A 50-year past of utilizing prescribed burns to region different types of trees and vegetation successful the park’s sequoia groves was expected to assistance the giants past by lessening the interaction if flames scope them, Ruggiero said.

Giant sequoias, immoderate thousands of years old, unrecorded connected the occidental flank of the Sierra. They are adapted to fire, which tin assistance them to thrive by releasing seeds from their cones and creating clearings that let young sequoias to grow.

But Ruggiero noted that the bonzer strength of fires successful existent clime conditions tin overwhelm sequoias, a script that played retired erstwhile the 2020 Castle Fire killed galore trees successful the region.

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Studies estimation that 7,500 to 10,600 ample sequoias were killed by that fire, on with galore of different sizes, according to the National Park Service.

The Colony Fire besides poses a broader information due to the fact that it is burning astatine an elevation of the cardinal Sierra wherever determination are 280 cardinal pines and different types of trees that person been killed by drought and bark beetles, Ruggiero said.

“The Colony Fire specifically is burning successful a truly atrocious spot ... wherever these trees are similar jackstraws and it’s hard to enactment occurrence unit into immoderate of these areas due to the fact that of that,” helium said.

Elsewhere, 2 California fires that person caused extended demolition successful the bluish Sierra and confederate Cascades were not growing.

The state's second-largest occurrence connected record, the Dixie Fire, was 86% contained aft burning 1,500 quadrate miles successful the bluish Sierra and confederate Cascades region. Near Lake Tahoe, containment of the 342-square-mile (885-square-kilometer) Caldor Fire accrued to 71%.

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North of San Francisco, a 20-year-old Ukiah antheral was arrested Tuesday and jailed connected suspicion of starting the Hopkins Fire successful Mendocino County, the California Department of Forestry and Fire Protection said successful a statement. The occurrence that sparked Sunday northbound of Ukiah charred 257 acres (104 hectares), destroyed homes and forced evacuations.

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Antczak reported from Los Angeles. Associated Press newsman Janie Har successful San Francisco contributed to this report.

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