After thousands of years… it may be our turn to witness its end. It’s a sad sight, of course. The millennia-old redwoods threatened by fire are a testament to the magnitude of the danger. And, sadly, there’s not much that can be done.
Threatened giant
It is the most celebrated inhabitant of California’s Redwood National Park. It is the tree known as General Sherman. It was wrapped by firefighters in aluminum blankets to protect it from the fire. Meanwhile, the flames continue to rage in this nature reserve.
There are fears that the fire could reach a site called Giant Forest, Giant Forest. It is home to some of the largest trees in the world. General Sherman is a giant sequoia (Sequoiadendron giganteum) And is considered the single tree with the largest amount of biomass on the planet. The largest in the world by volume, according to the U.S. National Park Service.
It is 83.8 meters tall. However, it is not the tallest tree on the planet. That place goes to another sequoia called Hyperion, 115.5 meters. It is in Redwood National Park in northern California.
The girth of General Sherman’s trunk is 31 meters. It reaches 11 meters in diameter at the base. The giant is estimated to weigh about two thousand tons. Its age is between 2,300 and 2,700 years.
Protecting trees
Redwoods are very resistant to fire. They have evolved to survive flames. But the extraordinary intensity of today’s fires may eventually overcome them. The Colony and Paradise fires continue to grow in Redwood National Park.
More than 350 firefighters, helicopters and water-dropping aircraft have been mobilized to fight the blazes. They wrapped the base of General Sherman and other trees with protective blankets. They also covered some of the park’s most famous signs. Aluminum blankets can resist fire for short periods of time.
“It’s a very important area. A lot of special effort is being made to protect this grove,” Rebeca Paterson said. She is a spokeswoman for Redwoods and Kings Canyon National Park to the LA Times.
The millennial redwoods threatened by fire faced more than 7,400 wildfires this year. More than 800,000 acres burned. Influencing these are higher temperatures and extreme drought conditions.
Climate change is creating conditions that can fuel wildfires. The number of dry days in California has more than doubled since the 1980s.
