YOSEMITE NATIONAL PARK, California (AP) – Yosemite National Park’s largest giant redwood forest closed Friday when a wildfire burning a dense forest became the last in recent years to threaten more trees grains of the world.
A team was being sent to Butterfly Grove to wrap some of the massive logs with fire-resistant aluminum foil to protect them when the fire burned out of control, said Nancy Phillipe, a spokeswoman for Yosemite fire reports.
More than 500 mature redwoods were threatened, but there were no reports of serious damage to any named tree, such as the 3,000-year-old Grizzly giant.
The cause of the fire is being investigated and the rest of the park remained open, as about 300 firefighters tried to control the flames with the help of two helicopters that dropped water and a tanker truck that poured flame retardant, he said. dir Phillipe.
Giant sequoias, native to some 70 forests along the western slope of the Sierra Nevada Mountains of California, were previously considered impermeable to flames, but have become increasingly vulnerable as forest fires feed. by the accumulation of undergrowth of a century of firefighting and drought aggravated by climate change has become more intense and destructive.
Forest fires caused by lightning over the past two years have killed up to one-fifth of the 75,000 large redwoods, which are the largest trees by volume.
There was no obvious natural spark for the fire that broke out Thursday next to the park’s Washburn Trail, Phillipe said. Visitors walking through the forest that reopened in 2018 reported smoke after a $ 40 million renovation that lasted three years.
The forest, which is located inside the south entrance of the park, was evacuated and no one was injured.
The fire more than tripled overnight to 67 acres (166 acres) Friday, Phillipe said. Firefighters had previously estimated that 250 acres (101 hectares) had been burned, but it was reviewed after a more detailed assessment.
The nearby village of Wawona, where some 600 to 700 people were staying in a campsite, cabins and a historic hotel, was under an evacuation warning. A community meeting was planned and visitors and residents were encouraged to be prepared to leave.
“Our priorities are definitely the giant redwoods and the Wawona community,” Phillipe said.
A strong wind storm ravaged the forest a year and a half ago and felled 15 giant redwoods, along with countless other trees.
The fallen trees, along with a large number of pines killed by bark beetles, provided enough fuel for the flames, but the winds on Friday were calm and the fire was not spreading rapidly.
The park has used prescribed burns to clean the brushes around the redwoods, which helps protect them if the flames spread further into the forest.
“When unwanted fires affect these areas, they tend to slow down the speed of spread and help us have some control,” Phillipe said.
In the foothills of the Sierra, 80 miles (128 kilometers) northwest of the Yosemite Fire, some evacuation orders were lifted as containment grew to 65% in the Electra Fire that had burned 7 square miles (18 square miles).
The fire broke out Monday near Jackson and temporarily forced about 100 people celebrating the July 4 holiday along a river to seek refuge at Pacific Gas & Electric Co.’s facilities.