A wildfire that threatened some of the world’s oldest Sequoia trees in California’s Yosemite National Park has risen five times over the weekend.
Smoke rose Air quality Alarms and views in the park are hidden Its popular feature.
As of Sunday, the blaze had burned more than 1,600 acres of wood and brush on the southern edge of the park, about 1,600 acres (648 hectares). Giant Sequoia Grove.
National Park Service staff closed Mariposa Grove, home to more than 500 mature Sequoia giants, on Friday and evacuated the nearby U.S. community of Waona.
What effect will the fire have on national park tourism?
Coming at a height Summer tourist seasonAccording to Park Service spokesman Nancy Philip, the evictions have displaced an estimated 1,600 people.
Park service closed the southern entrance to the park, which Philippe says attracts about 4 million visitors a year.
The park’s most famous attractions, including the Yosemite Valley, remain accessible from the west entrance. But smoke and soot obscured landscapes such as El Capitan and the half-glazed granite, as well as Bridalville Fall and surrounding cliffs.
Federal wildfires on Sunday warned of air quality issues He has reached an unhealthy level In many parts of the park.
What will happen to the ancient giant Sekoi?
Although the fire was designed to be very dry, the hot conditions of Sunday burned out without much control, any sign of Yosemite Sekoya, Some are over 3,000 years old and have been given namesThey are still missing, Philip said.
Firefighters were taking special measures to protect the bush, clearing it of impurities that could add to the fuel bed and setting up ground-based spraying systems to increase humidity levels.
“We are confident in our plans today,” Philippe told Reuters.
The cause of the fire is under investigation and no injuries have been reported so far, officials said.
Giant sequoias The largest trees in the world Massive and thick, sponge bark, they have lived together for thousands of years, and light red forests are part of the natural balance of nature.
Even fire is very important for the trees to reproduce, their shoots need a lot of heat to open up and release seeds.
However, experts say that drought-stricken Sekoya is now increasingly vulnerable to repeated wildfires caused by climate change.
Between 2015 and 2021, 85 percent of the major wildfires in California, Nevada, burned 85 percent of Sequoia Groves over the past six years, compared to just a quarter of a century ago.
