Giant sequoias in Yosemite threatened by wildfire

Yosemite National Park, California (AP) – The largest Sekoya Grove in Yosemite National Park was closed on Friday and hundreds of people were ordered to leave nearby. In recent years, wildfires have threatened the world’s largest trees.

Yosemite Fire Spokesman Nancy Filipe said that when the fire broke out uncontrollably, a team was being sent to Mariposa Grove to wrap some of the massive trunks with fire-resistant foil.

More than 500 mature squirrels have been threatened, but there are no reports of 3,000-year-old Grizzly Giant being seriously injured.

The cause of the fire is under investigation, and about 300 firefighters are trying to contain the blaze with two helicopters and an airliner, Philip said, adding that the rest of the park is open.

Located in about 70 bushes on the western slopes of Sierra Nevada, California, Sequoia was once considered fire-resistant but has become increasingly vulnerable to more than a century of firefighting and drought-related wildfires. Climate change has become very powerful and destructive.

Over the past two years, lightning strikes have killed up to a fifth of an estimated 75,000 large squirrels, the largest trees in size.

Philip said there was no clear natural light for Thursday’s fire near the park’s Washington Road. A.D. During the 2018 reopening of the groove, visitors reported smoke for $ 40 million, a three-year renovation.

Groove at the southern entrance of the park was evacuated unharmed.

The fire spread to 466 hectares by Friday night, officials said.

The evacuation order was issued Friday for the group at the Waona camp in Waona Camp, where 600 to 700 people are staying in the campground, huts and historic hotel.

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