Firefighters in California are racing to protect a historic grove of ancient giant sequoia trees in the Sierra national forest as the Garnet fire continues to spread through Fresno county.
The Garnet fire, which began on 24 August and was caused by lightning, reached McKinley Grove on Monday, the US Forest Service said. The grove is home to about 170 giant sequoia trees, some estimated to be 2,000 years old, according to the non-profit Save the Redwoods.
Videos released by the Forest Service on Monday show a “low intensity fire” moving through the grove, along with dense smoke and orange skies.
While the fire reached the forest on Monday, officials said that while embers had ignited some branches, no sequoias had fully caught fire as of Monday afternoon.
“There is no crown fire within the grove, there are no trees fully on fire, these are embers that lofted into branches and have nestled in place,” the forest service said.
Crews had taken precautions well in advance, officials said, including the installation of a 24-hour sprinkler system around the grove and firefighting crews cleared heavy fuel buildup from around the trees.
But despite these efforts, forest officials said: “Several spot fires did get established north of McKinley Grove Road in and around the grove of Giant Sequoias.”
As of Monday afternoon, fire crews continued to work to contain these spots as well as “employing aggressive firefighting tactics throughout the perimeter of the fire”.
Smokejumpers were also called in to climb affected trees and extinguish embers.
As of Monday evening, the Garnet fire had burned 54,925 acres (22,000 hectares) and was 14% contained.
The Forest Service said on Monday that most of the fire’s recent growth had occurred in the northern areas.
Firefighters “met the increase in fire activity to the north and north-west through deliberate actions to bolster containment lines through a combination of strategic firing, heavy equipment work, and laying of fire hose along containment lines”, officials said.
Three night-capable Chinook helicopters were also brought in to the incident to support night operations as needed, the agency said.
Evacuation orders and warning have been issued across parts of the Sierra national forest in eastern Fresno county. As of Monday evening, no structures had been reported lost.
Air quality in the region has also been affected. Over the weekend, the National Weather Service issued a dense smoke advisory for a portion of the Sierra Nevada and nearby foothills, due to smoke from the Garnet fire.
“Reduced visibilities one to two miles in dense smoke which could result in hazardous driving conditions,” the National Weather Service said, urging local residents and those nearby to “take steps to protect yourself from wildfire smoke”.
Fire officials told AccuWeather that the next few days would be critical in determining whether the ancient sequoias in McKinley Grove can survive another destructive fire season.
According to Save the Redwoods, since 2015, nearly 20% of mature “giant sequoias have perished in wildfires that are burning hotter and more intensely than ever before”.
