Central California’s El Portal fire has put about 50 homes at risk (one man even resorted to ). But there’s another “structure” in danger: the Merced Grove of giant sequoias. This group of ancient trees sits in the western part of Yosemite, and as the fire grew during the day Wednesday, closing roads within the park, some were sweating the .
Luckily, more than 800 firefighters made good progress Wednesday night. The say the fire is about 34 percent contained and no longer “an imminent threat” to the sequoias, according to park spokesperson Scott Gediman. Still, if the fire makes a significant surge, it could threaten the trees once again, he . Efforts to further contain the flames continue as low humidity and thunderstorms will likely keep the fire going strong.
But don’t panic. The idea of fire reaching these flammable natural wonders is scary, but the threat is not as bad as you might think. As ecologist Stephen C. Sillet during last year’s wildfire season, it’s not going to completely destroy the forest. Giant sequoias are quite flame resistant because their bark is so fibrous, and though they could be somewhat damaged in a fire, Sillett assured us that “the big trees are going to be fine.”