ASSOCIATED PRESS – WBAP/KLIF – Giant sequoia trees that have lived thousands of years in isolated pockets in California are again threatened by massive wildfires underway in California, and the most famous tree of all is now at risk. Officials say the now merged wildfires “Colony” and “Paradise Fire” – to be called the KNP Complex Fire, now threaten Sequoia National Park, and to the point firefighters have wrapped the world’s largest tree with fire resistant aluminum. But whether the tactic will work, with the fire just one mile away and quickly closing in, will depend upon the severity of the blaze: the infernos being increasingly seen are taking down everything, and officials are finding there’s little they can do to ensure even seedlings will emerge as nature intended. Sequoia National Park is home to two thousand giant sequoias, and they could all, or a majority of them, could burn with few seedlings to emerge after the fire is gone.
Giant sequoias grow in isolated pockets in the Sierra Nevada Mountains of California. Low intensity fires cause seeds to scatter, but scientists say the massive new infernos with raging heat levels burn everything including the seeds.
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