Wildfires sparked by lightning over the past two years have killed up to a fifth of the estimated 75,000 large sequoias remaining.
The trees only grow in about 70 groves located on the western slopes of California’s Sierra Nevada Mountains. They are the largest trees on Earth in terms of volume.
There was no evidence of natural causes that sparked the fire Thursday near Yosemite’s Washburn Trail, Phillipe said. Visitors reported seeing smoke near the grove, which just reopened after a $40 million renovation in 2018. National Park Service/APThe fire tripled in size to over 166 acres overnight, Philippe said. The nearby village of Wawona, where between 600 and 700 campers were lodged, is under an evacuation advisory.
Roughly 80 miles to the northwest, the massive Electra Fire has been 65% contained after scorching more than 7 square miles. The fire broke out near Jackson on Monday and temporarily forced about 100 people celebrating the July 4th holiday along a river to seek shelter in a Pacific Gas & Electric Co. facility.
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Wildfire closes Yosemite's famed Mariposa GroveThe grove holds more than 500 mature giant sequoia trees.
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Part of California's Yosemite closed as wildfire threatens sequoiasA wildfire forced the closure of part of California's Yosemite National Park on Friday and threatened some of the largest and oldest giant sequoia trees in the world as the state faced another potentially devastating fire year.
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Yosemite: Wildfire forces closure of Mariposa GroveAs of Wednesday evening, the blaze covered 46 acres, according to the Fire Integrated Real Time Intelligence System.
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Wildfire burning inside Yosemite National Park forces partial closureThe Washburn fire, burning in the area of the famed Mariposa Grove of giant sequoias, had grown to 60 to 70 acres shortly after 7 p.m.
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Increase in smoke expected as crews continue efforts to contain Electra FireElsewhere, firefighters were battling a 46-acre blaze near the Mariposa Grove in Yosemite National Park.
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