Giant redwood forest threatened by wildfire

The largest giant redwood forest in Yosemite National Park has been closed and hundreds of people have been ordered to evacuate nearby, as wildfires burning through the dense forest become the latest incident to threaten the world’s largest tree in recent years.

A team was sent to Mariposa Grove to wrap some of the giant tree trunks in fire-resistant foil to protect them if the fire got out of control.

More than 500 mature redwoods are threatened, but there have been no reports of serious damage to any named trees, such as the 3,000-year-old giant grizzly bear.

The cause of the fire is under investigation, and the rest of the park remains open as nearly 300 firefighters try to contain the blaze with the help of two dripping helicopters and an aerial tanker that dumped retardant.

Over the past two years, wildfires sparked by lightning have killed about one-fifth of the roughly 75,000 giant redwoods, the largest trees.

Nancy Phillipe, a spokeswoman for Yosemite fire information, said the fire that broke out along the park’s Washburn Trail on Thursday had no apparent natural sparks.

Tourists walking in the grove, which reopened in 2018 after a three-year $40 million (£33.2 million) renovation, reported smoke.

The grove within the park’s south entrance has been evacuated and no one was injured.

Evacuation orders have been issued to the grove, the nearby community of Wawona (surrounded by a park) and the Wawona campground, where about 600 to 700 people live in tents, cabins and a historic hotel.

Less than two years ago, a violent storm swept through the woods, bringing down 15 giant redwoods, along with countless other trees.

Fallen trees and a large number of pines killed by bark beetles provided ample fuel for the blaze, but winds were calm on Friday and the fire did not spread quickly.

The park has used prescribed burns to clear the underbrush around redwoods, which helps protect them if the flames spread into the woods.