In 2020 Up To 10,000 Large Sequoias Burned; In 2021 World's Largest Tree Wrapped In Fire Blanket

[hatrack]

Firefighters have wrapped the base of the world’s largest tree in a fire-resistant blanket as they tried to save a famous grove of gigantic old-growth sequoias from wildfires burning in California’s rugged Sierra Nevada. The colossal General Sherman tree in Sequoia national park’s giant forest, some of the other sequoias, the Giant Forest Museum and other buildings were wrapped as protection against the possibility of intense flames, fire spokesperson Rebecca Paterson said.

The Colony fire, one of two burning in Sequoia national park, was expected to reach the Giant Forest, a grove of 2,000 sequoias, at some point on Thursday. It comes after a wildfire killed thousands of sequoias, some as tall as high-rises and thousands of years old, in the region last year.

The General Sherman tree is the largest in the world by volume, at 1,487 cubic meters, according to the National Park Service. It towers 84 meters high and has a circumference of 31 meters at ground level. A 50-year history of using prescribed burns – fires set on purpose to remove other types of trees and vegetation that would otherwise feed wildfires – in the parks’ sequoia groves was expected to help the giant trees survive by lessening the impact if flames reach them. A “robust fire history of prescribed fire in that area is reason for optimism”, Paterson said. “Hopefully, the Giant Forest will emerge from this unscathed.”

Giant sequoias are adapted to fire, which can help them thrive by releasing seeds from their cones and creating clearings that allow young sequoias to grow. But the extraordinary intensity of fires – fuelled by climate change – can overwhelm the trees. That happened last year when the Castle fire killed what studies estimate were 7,500 to 10,600 large sequoias, according to the National Park Service.

EDIT

https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2021/sep/17/worlds-largest-tree-wrapped-in-fire-resistant-blanket-as-california-blaze-creeps-closer

[LittleGirl]

1. That park is/was on our list

Of places to visit on out trip to CA at the end of the month. All national parks in CA are closed until the 17th anyway. They will probably extend the closures.