Hundreds of giant sequoias may have burned down as Complex Fire rages in California

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On October 4, the high-intensity blaze spread north and caused damage to Redwood Canyon, the National Park Service told CNN in a statement. The fire now covers more than 85,000 acres.

Currently, the exact number of trees burned is unknown as the blaze is mostly uncontained, but the NPS said it was a significant number – in the hundreds.

Triggered by lightning in September, the KNP Complex Fire is the latest in a series of forest fires engulfing giant trees, some of the tallest in the world. The Windy Fire, which also burns in Sequoia National Park, has killed at least 29 giant sequoias, and last year the Castle Fire destroyed between 7,500 and 10,600 trees, representing about 10-14% of the population. world of sequoias.

Last month, teams wrapped the base of the General Sherman Tree, the world’s tallest tree, in an aluminum-based burn-resistant material, according to Sequoia and Kings National Parks, to protect it from the flames.

The tree is 275 feet tall and over 36 feet in diameter at the base, making it taller than the Statue of Liberty from its torch base.

The service plans to fully assess the damage to the trees once the fire is “cold-extinguished” in the course of 2022.

Currently, 2,069 people are working to put out the flames, the NPS said, and in more rugged and inaccessible terrain, crews drop fire-retardant gel from helicopters onto the groves, but the smoke has made it difficult to do so.

Four firefighters were injured Thursday and taken to hospital after being struck by a falling tree, according to firefighters. One works for CalFire, while the other three are members of the California Conservation Corps, the statement said.

They were released from the hospital on Friday.

Windy Fire has destroyed more than two dozen giant sequoias - and that's just a first assessment

Even though the fire is intense, Sam Hodder, CEO of Save the Redwoods League, explained that fire is not the enemy of giant redwoods, noting that these trees have experienced many wildfires and generally react good for moderate fires. .

Just months after last year’s castle fire, a carpet of giant baby sequoias sprang up from the land where the devastating fire had occurred.

And although giant sequoias adapt to periodic fires, the bark generally protects trees from significant damage and can insulate them from the heat of a fire, NPS said. Over time, however, it can be difficult for trees to heal after centuries of fire scars.

CNN’s Alta Spells and Sarah Moon contributed to this report.

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