KNP Fire Seems To Have Missed Most Giant Sequoia Groves, But 10-14% Of All Sequoias Killed In 2020
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Sequoia and Kings Canyon National Parks are home to 36 giant sequoia groves, roughly half of all the giant sequoia groves on Earth. Sixteen are inside the KNP Complex Fire footprint, but aerial surveillance footage taken Tuesday under clear conditions showed only four (Redwood Mountain, Suwanee, Muir and Castle Creek) experienced what Brigham termed “high intensity crown fire.” Furthermore, the damage appears to be localized to specific portions of those four groves and not widespread throughout them.
Regarding Redwood Mountain Grove, a popular hiking area, Brigham said photos and video showed many large monarch giant sequoias with their rounded green “broccoli tops” still intact. But there were also areas lower in the grove where destructive fire got into the tree canopies. “I saw a photo of two large monarchs that were completely torched,” she said. “Not a needle on them.”
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Brigham cautioned her observations are preliminary. Park scientists won’t know for certain how those giant sequoia groves fared until next spring or summer when they can safely access them on foot. “We do not know anything definitively,” said Brigham, as smoke from the fire’s remaining hot spots wafted in the distance. “Sequoias are mysterious creatures. They’ve survived thousands of years. So it’s going to take a lot of work to know exactly how many sequoias died.”
Brigham has seen more than her fair share of that. In June, she and U.S. Geological Survey forest ecologist Nate Stephenson co-authored a report stating last year’s Castle Fire in Sequoia National Park and the Giant Sequoia National Monument killed between 10% and 14% of all large sequoias “across the tree’s natural range in the Sierra Nevada.” Their startling findings prompted the formation of the Giant Sequoia Lands Coalition, an effort between government agencies, private landowners and affiliated nonprofits to better protect these majestic trees across jurisdictional boundaries.
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https://www.fresnobee.com/opinion/opn-columns-blogs/marek-warszawski/article255004892.html
