Authorities fear that the flames raging in the Sierra Nevada mountains will reach the so-called Giant Forest, home to the world’s largest trees, within hours. There are about 2,000 redwoods growing in it, including the one called General Sherman, which measures 83 meters and has a trunk with the largest volume in the world. The server pointed this out BBC.
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Forest fires in the area have started to worsen in the last week. 350 firefighters accompanied by helicopters and planes crashing into the fight against the flames. On Thursday, firefighters wrapped some of the rarest trees, including General Sherman, in aluminum foil to protect them from fire. The local museum and other buildings are also under protection.
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Aluminum blankets can withstand very intense heat for a short time. Federal representatives this material they use to protect sensitive structures throughout the American West for several years. Thanks to them, they managed to save, for example, some houses on Lake Tahoe. Those that were wrapped in aluminum foil survived the fire, while those that were unprotected were destroyed.
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Now firefighters are covering the California’s redwood trees, which are in danger, with fireproof foils. “For many, many people, this is a very important area, so we make great efforts to protect this grove,” she said. Los Angeles Times Rebecca Paterson, spokeswoman for Sequoia and Kings Canyon National Parks.
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Experts claim that redwoods are very resistant to fire and are designed to withstand strong forest fires. Even so, last year the flames in the area killed hundreds of these trees. Some of them reached the dimensions of high-rise buildings and were hundreds of years old. Increasingly intense fires driven by drought and climate change are causing redwoods to lose their natural ability and cease to be resistant to flames.
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Now firefighters are most worried about General Sherman’s famous tree, which is the largest known single-stemmed tree on Earth. Its age is estimated at 2,300 to 2,700 years.
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The current fires are the last of a long line of summer fires that hit California this year. More than 7,400 of them broke out in the country this year. They burned more than 2.2 million acres of land. Behind them were high temperatures and extreme drought.
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