California wildfires: Weather conditions exacerbate threat to giant sequoias | California

Fire officials warned stronger winds were contributing to “critical fire conditions” in the KNP complex area, two lightning-triggered fires that merged on the west side of Sequoia National Park in the Sierra Nevada.

The National Weather Service (NWS) issued a red flag warning until Sunday, saying gusts and lower humidity could create conditions for the rapid spread of wildfires.

Historic drought related to climate change makes wildfires more difficult to fight and has killed millions of trees in California alone. Scientists say climate change has made the west much hotter and drier over the past 30 years and will continue to make weather conditions more extreme and forest fires more frequent and destructive.

More than 7,000 California wildfires this year have damaged or destroyed more than 3,000 homes and other buildings and burned down more than 3,000 square miles of land, according to the California Department of Forestry and Fire Protection.

Fires forced the evacuation of Sequoia National Park last week, as well as parts of Three Rivers, a hilltop community of about 2,500 people. The teams bulldozed a line between the fire and the community. Over 34 square miles of forest land has been blackened.

The National Park Service said on Friday the flames had reached the westernmost point of the giant forest, burning a cluster of redwoods known as the “Four Guards” that mark the entrance to the 2,000-tree grove.

Firefighters wrapped the base of the General Sherman tree, along with other trees in the Giant Forest, in a type of aluminum that could withstand high heat. All four guards received the same treatment. Firefighter spokeswoman Katy Hooper said the condition of these trees was unclear.

The General Sherman Tree is the world’s largest by volume, at 52,508 cubic feet, according to the National Park Service. It is 275 feet tall and has a circumference of 103 feet at ground level.

Firefighters who wrapped the base of the redwoods in foil and swept leaves and needles from the forest floor around the trees had to flee on Friday, Hooper said. They returned on Saturday when conditions improved to continue work and start a strategic fire along Generals Highway to protect the Giant Forest Grove.

Giant sequoias are adapted to fire, which can help them thrive by releasing seeds from their cones and creating clearings that allow young trees to grow. But the extraordinary intensity of fires fueled by climate change can overwhelm trees.

“Once the fire burns inside the tree, it will cause mortality,” said Jon Wallace, operations section chief at the KNP complex.

The fires burned down several groves containing trees as high as 200 feet and 2,000 years old.

To the south, the Windy Fire has reached 28 square miles in the Tule River Indian Reservation and Giant Redwoods National Monument, where it has burned the Peyrone Redwood Grove and threatened others.

The fire had also reached Long Meadow Grove, where the 100 Giant Sequoias Trail is a national monument. Firefighters were unable to determine the extent of damage to the groves, which are in remote areas.