In an effort to save the giant sequoias, crews have applied a special fire-resistant wrap to the trees to save them from KNP Complex Fire.
TULARE COUNTY, Calif. — Cooler weather on Friday helped crews trying to keep California wildfires away from a grove of gigantic ancient sequoias, including the world’s largest tree, nestled in a national park. Unlike raging wildfires that have burned vast swaths of the drought-stricken U.S. West this summer, the blazes in Sequoia National Park were not explosive. Flames were about a mile (1.5 kilometers) from the famous Giant Forest, a grove of some 2,000 massive sequoias on a plateau high in the Sierra Nevada.”It’s been slow growth,” fire information officer Katy Hooper said. Lower temperatures and a layer of smoke blanketing the area have been suppressing the flames. Firefighters have placed a fire-resistant aluminum wrapping around the base of the General Sherman Tree, the world’s largest by volume at 52,508 cubic feet (1,487 cubic meters), as well as some other trees and buildings. The material can withstand intensive heat for short periods and has been used in national parks and forests for several years throughout the West to protect sensitive structures from flames.
