Yosemite National Park spread over 2,000 acres, is engulfed in a wildfire. This wildfire is on the verge of harming centuries worth of sequoia trees and other plants. As per reports, the Washburn Fire is still active in the largest and most popular Mariposa Grove, the park’s third giant cluster of sequoia and Wawona. It is a home longest-living and tallest trees existing in the world.
Over the last few days, the fire was out of control. The fire management team from Yosemite has sent 545 firefighters who were also protecting the forest. On Sunday, thick smoke could be seen from the park. An air quality advisory was issued to Bay Area 200 miles, which is located to the west.
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At the Mariposa Grove, the team quickly removed burning leaves, sticks, branches and giant sequoias. According to reports, National Park Service, said, “ Fortunately, the Mariposa Grove has a long history of prescribed burning and studies have shown that these efforts reduce the impacts of high-severity unwanted fire.” However, as per the weather predictions, the weather remains to be hot and dry for the next few days.
Now, they have installed emergency sprinklers to douse Grizzly Giant – the most renowned sequoia in the park. It is the largest tree in Yosemite at 209 feet and is among the oldest trees. These are measured once in thousand years. They have the ability to endure fire and heat as it helps in opening up the cones and allowing the seeds to disappear.
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However, longer and hotter fires tend to damage them beyond repair. At present, this is a severe fire season that California has been facing in a row.
Last year, California and other parts of the US, faced wildfires which were quick and brought in severe drought and a warmer climate. Two of those fires had affected California’s 3,600 giant sequoias.
