The trees in harm’s way include “General Grant,” a giant sequoia that, at over 260 feet tall, is one of the top three largest trees in the world; and Boole Tree, which is the world’s sixth largest giant sequoia.
The Rough Fire surrounding the trees has burned 135,000 acres and remains less than 50 percent contained.
A webcam captured the Rough Fire burning toward the Sierras:
“It’s getting better, firefighter Luis Magana told The Sacramento Bee. He added that on Friday, “it was raining down ash,” but that has turned into more of a light ash drizzle now.
Underbrush was cleared in a grove near the trees, and prescribed burns have kept the fire from overrunning the break around General Grant Grove, a section of the greater Kings Canyon National Park where the historic trees are.
The General Grant Tree is over 3000 years old, and is known as the national Christmas Tree of the U.S. The region is also home to the fabled Chicago Stump, which is what’s left of the 95-foot-wide General Noble Tree that was cut down in 1892 to create an exhibit for the following year. It was one of the largest trees to have ever been cut down.
Paul Garnier, a spokesman for the Rough Fire’s incident management team, told the Los Angeles Times that a bark and beetle infestation previously killed multiple pine trees in the area, adding fuel to the already drought-ravaged landscape.
Garnier said that crews hand-cut lines around the historic trees — even the Chicago Stump — and ran designated hose lines to them. The trees, surrounded by flames, were then blanketed with an aboveground sprinkler system.
Wildfires are a part of a healthy ecosystem, he said, and can help some trees germinate.
“It really is more that man has come into this wild space so we have to be involved and make sure people and property are protected,” he added.
Read more at Discovery News
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