Yosemite National Park's iconic giant sequoia trees — a symbol of conservation and a major tourist attraction in the Golden State — went up in flames on Thursday, July 7. First responders are fighting fire with fire to protect Mariposa Grove, a grove of giant sequoia trees by the south entrance of the national park. All 500 or so mature giant sequoias in Mariposa Grove, including the park's second tallest and most photographed tree, the Grizzly Giant, still stand — but the Washburn Fire is spreading.
Giant Sequoias thrive in Southern California, where wildfires, too, are a natural part of the forest ecosystem. Yet droughts over the last two decades turned forests in the Sierra Nevada into one giant tinderbox. High temperatures, degraded ecosystem health, and bark beetle infestations have killed millions of trees in Yosemite alone. Now, experts say the dry debris could provide fuel for Washburn Fire to climb from the forest floor into the canopy, creating a "crown" fire hot enough to kill the giant sequoia trees, which can live to be as old as 3,500 years.
