AP
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NOS News•today, 01:11
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A wildfire in Yosemite National Park threatens the giant sequoias growing there. The fire brigade has closed the popular part of the park to the public to fight the fire.
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It is about the Mariposa Grove, where there are more than 500 fully grown sequoias, giant trees that can reach 85 meters high with a circumference of 8 meters. Some of those trees are more than 3000 years old.
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A fire broke out in the area on Thursday for unknown reasons. Meanwhile, a piece of forest of more than 100 hectares, about 300 football fields, is on fire. The fire is not yet under control.
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The fire service has evacuated visitors from this part of the park. There have been no injuries yet.
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Drought and overdue management
California has been struggling with severe drought for years. The risk of wildfires is also fueled by overdue forest management, which led to a lot of combustible undergrowth.
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Due to this combination of factors, the US is currently experiencing its most devastating wildfire season in 10 years: almost 2 million hectares of nature have already gone up in flames, an area about half the size of the Netherlands.
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