Intentional fires helped save Yosemite's ancient sequoia trees Saving the centuries-old trees in Yosemite's famed Mariposa Grove took hard work from firefighters but also half a century of intentional fires.
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In 2021, when the Windy Fire entered the grove, it burned hot in a portion that hadn't been treated, but the intensity decreased once it entered the area that been actively managed. Firefighters came in to help protect some of the bigger trees. Even small, young sequoias survived.
Intentional fires helped save Yosemite's ancient sequoia trees : NPR. Intentional fires helped save Yosemite's ancient sequoia trees Saving the centuries-old trees in Yosemite's famed Mariposa Grove took hard work from firefighters but also half a century of intentional fires.
Six fires, occurring between 2015 and 2021 killed many large sequoias in numerous groves across the Sierra Nevada (Figure 1). More than 85 percent of all giant sequoia grove acreage across the Sierra Nevada has burned in wildfires between 2015 and 2021, compared to only one quarter in the preceding century.
Theodore Roosevelt led to the expansion of Yosemite National Park to protect the Mariposa Grove, and Sequoia National Forest was formed in 1908 to preserve many of the remaining groves.
Located in the Giant Forest surrounded by mature giant sequoia trees, tunnel log fell across the road nearly a century ago. National park visitors and tourists can come drive their vehicles through this fallen giant sequoia. This is a must stop spot inside the park.
The trees are so huge, a hug is merely a fantasy. However, one already damaged tree, an iconic one foolishly cored for a road decades ago, is accessible enough to have your photo take inside, to touch, view up close and feel humbled by its age, its ability to recover and, of course, its enormity.