Australia firefighters save world's only rare dinosaur trees
Source: AP
By ROD McGUIRK
CANBERRA, Australia (AP) Specialist firefighters have saved the worlds last remaining wild stand of a prehistoric tree from wildfires that razed forests west of Sydney, officials said Thursday.
Firefighters winched from helicopters to reach the cluster of fewer than 200 Wollemi Pines in a remote gorge in the Blue Mountains a week before a massive wildlife bore down, National Parks and Wildlife Service Director David Crust said.
The firefighters set up an irrigation system to keep the so-called dinosaur trees moist and pumped water daily from the gorge as the blaze that had burned out of control for more than two month edged closer.
Firefighting planes strategically bombed the fire front with fire retardant to slow its progress.
Read more: https://apnews.com/3566ab33b140372eaa1c8c61abbb5b06
burrowowl
(17,641 posts)Bravo Firefighters!
Guilded Lilly
(5,591 posts)highplainsdem
(49,004 posts)catbyte
(34,403 posts)dhill926
(16,346 posts)Bayard
(22,099 posts)Certainly I'm glad the historic trees were saved, but at what cost? I'm thinking how that much water would also save millions of dying animals.
Its all so sad either way.
lagomorph777
(30,613 posts)A billion animals killed. Who knows how many unique species pushed over the brink?