The largest tree on earth is in danger
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The National Parks Agency said yesterday that firefighting crews have resorted to wrapping the roots of some giant sequoia trees in fireproof covers in a desperate attempt to save the tallest trees, including the tree bearing the name "General Sherman" and is the largest tree in the world.
The fire, one of dozens that broke out in western states in the United States in the early fire season, closed Sequoia National Park earlier, leaving a thick blanket of smoke in the area.
The small town of Three Rivers, about halfway between Los Angeles and San Francisco, said the town's air quality was poor.
The Federal Accident Information System (INSWIP) stated that the fire, which was called the KNB Complex and was caused by the merging of two other fires, has swelled and spread over an area of more than 11,000 acres.
Parks agency spokesman Mark Jarrett said the fire was burning 1.6 km from the giant forest in the park, which is home to the largest tree on Earth by volume, the General Sherman tree, before the departure of 115 park employees earlier.
The Park Service says the General Sherman tree is the tallest of the more than 2,000 other sequoia trees in the park, measuring 83 meters tall, nearly as high as the dome of the Washington Capitol, and over 11 meters in diameter at the base.
The giant sequoia trees, many of which are more than 3,000 years old, only grow at the higher elevations of the western slopes of California's Sierra Nevada Mountains.
These trees, thanks to their thick bark, can withstand and overcome most fires.
Jarrett said the parks agency is taking no risks with General Sherman and a few other giant trees.
"Even though it can adapt to fires... we can't lose that tree," he said.
The covers used to wrap tree trunks are made of fire-resistant materials, which reflect heat and are the kind that firefighters carry to prevent fires.
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