The wildfires that threatened the huge Sequoia tree at Yosemite National Park have more than doubled in a single day, and firefighters are working hard to protect the figurative trees and a small mountainous city.
The amphitheater and residents near the fire have left, but the rest of the park in California remains open, although heavy smoke hides sightings and creates unhealthy air quality.
Nancy Filipe, spokeswoman for Yosemite Fire, said: “Smoking is the worst thing we can see today. “So far this morning the park has not been in an unhealthy category but it is where we are now.”
More than 500 mature squirrels have been threatened in the famous Mariposa Grove, but there are no reports of any serious damage to the trees mentioned, including 3,000-year-old Griezli Giant.
The forest spraying system has kept the tree trunk moist, and officials hoped that the constant spraying of water along with pre-ordered fires would be sufficient to prevent the fire.
The cause of the Washington fire was being investigated. It grew to about 2.5 square miles on Sunday morning, with no reserves.
Beyond the trees, the Wawuna community, surrounded by park land, was in danger, and people were ordered to leave late Friday. In addition to the residents, it is estimated that between 600 and 700 people will be living in tents, cabins and historic hotels on the Waona camp grounds.
Temperatures are expected to rise in the coming days and reach 30C and above, but firefighters working on steep slopes are not battling strong winds, said Geoffrey Balow, senior meteorologist at the Hanford National Meteorological Service.
The giant Sequoia, one of the 70 bushes spread over the western slope of Sierra Nevada in California, was once considered fire-resistant, but due to centuries of firefighting and drought, it has become more vulnerable to wildfires. They are aggravated by climate change and become more powerful and destructive.
Ms. Philippi had previously wrapped some large trunks in fire-resistant foil, but on Sunday she adjusted herself and said that was not the case. However, she said, the flight attendants wrapped the historic cabinet with protective foil.
Lightning strikes in the past two years have claimed the lives of up to five of the estimated 75,000 large squatters; These trees are large in size and a great destination for tourists to the national park.
There was no apparent natural spark for the blaze near the park’s Washington Road on Thursday, Ms Filipe said. A.D. It took three years for the $ 40 million return of smoke to visitors to the Gruve, which reopened in 2018.
A year ago, a tornado ripped through the bush, knocking down 15 giant sequoia and countless other trees.
The fallen trees provided enough fuel for the fire, along with many pine trees killed by beetle bark.
So far, by 2022, more than 35,000 acres of wildfires in the United States have burned nearly 4.7 million acres, according to the National Agency Fire Center.