Firefighters race to defend ancient sequoias from 2,700-acre Washburn fire in Yosemite

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The Washburn fire in Yosemite National Park doubled in size over the weekend. The fire was within striking distance of the park’s Mariposa Grove, home to more than 500 mature sequoias including the Grizzly Giant, estimated to be about 3,000 years old.

But while structure defense remained a top priority for firefighters, Bercovitz said he was getting inquiries from around the world from people worried about the sequoias.

“We’re attacking it in every possible way: a lot of aircraft, a lot of hand line, a lot of back burning,” Muldoon said. Firefighters were also spraying down trees, scraping the ground to bare mineral soil and taking other measures rolled out in recent years as wildfires burned thousands of giant sequoias.

Indeed, firefighters were using a variety of tactics to fight the blaze, including “offensive firing,” or the process of using intentional fire to stop the spread of uncontrolled flames. But while crews were not expecting to see strong wind at the fire on Monday, they were contending with increased heat and reduced relative humidity. Temperatures near the fire climbed into the low 90s on Monday with humidity hovering around 20%, according to the National Weather Service.

The fire has created large plumes visible from miles away, and Bollenbacher said smoke was affecting Yosemite Valley as well as portions of the Sacramento Valley and the Bay Area.

 

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Gotta give it up for the firefighters with that massive project ahead of them in that brutal heat and horrible conditions. It's so tragic. I hope it's under some sort of control very quickly. They are heroes for sure.

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