Firefighters Battle to Protect Treasured California Sequoias

Source: Associated Press

Firefighters Battle to Protect Treasured California Sequoias

By SCOTT SMITH AND KRISTIN J. BENDER, ASSOCIATED PRESS
FRESNO, Calif. — Sep 10, 2015, 8:35 PM ET

Firefighters in Central California on Thursday say the state's largest wildfire threatens to sweep through an ancient grove of Giant Sequoia trees considered to be a national treasure.

Firefighters are clearing lines with bulldozers around the Grant Grove and putting up sprinklers, said Andy Isolano, a spokesman for the Clovis Fire Department.

Although Isolano said the trees can endure fire, some are stressed in the four-year drought and they're not taking any chances because the fast-moving flames are about five miles from the grove.

It is named for the towering General Grant tree that stands 268 feet tall. There are dozens of Sequoia groves in the Sierra Nevada, and some trees are 3,000 years old.

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