Firefighters are still battling a wildfire near Yosemite National Park that threatens a grove of sequoias that have been growing there since the late 1800s.
The Washburn Fire has burned more than 2,300 acres and it started in a remote fuel bed with a lot of trees.
“We got crews in there and started prepping cutting brush away from the road edge to allow the fire to back down the slope,” said Matt Ahearn, operations chief.
Close to two dozen special teams descended to the area with 40 engines and six bulldozers.
Firefighters worked to stop flames from jumping the highway and they are very concerned about protecting the Mariposa Grove, which is home to more than 500 mature giant sequoia trees.
“The fire is on the outskirts of the Mariposa Grove,” said Ahearn. “It has backed a little ways into that it hasn’t advanced into the Grove.”
Brian Fenske is a Bay Area arborist who says those trees are several thousand years old.
“The fire is going to help the cones in the tree to drop seeds into the ash from the ash part of its life cycle to regenerate more trees,” said Fenske.
Fenske added that bark on those trees can be two feet thick, allowing the trees to protect themselves from fire.
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“Out of all the trees those are the most fire resilient trees and I think people are really concerned because there are so few of them left,” said Fenske.
Firefighters said the flames have passed by the grove and they believe the trees are no longer in danger.
Meanwhile the Washburn fire is still burning out of control.
