Giant sequoias — thousand-year-old trees as large as 275 feet tall — came under threat this month from wildfires raging in central California’s Yosemite National Park, though firefighters have reported the blaze was contained before it encroached on trees in the park’s famous Mariposa Grove.
The narrow escape for a national treasure has sparked debate in Congress about how to reduce wildfires in Yosemite and other nearby federal lands, pitting lawmakers from both parties against conservationists who fear legislative proposals could open the door to excessive timber-cutting in national forests.
Mariposa Grove, home to 30 giant sequoias, has survived the Washburn fire and “remains in good health and a healthier habitat has been created for local flora and fauna,” the National Wildfire Coordinating Group reported in an update Wednesday. The federal interagency report blamed dangerous wildfire conditions on excessively accumulated biomass on the forest floor, including leaves and tree branches.
