The Windy Fire has cooked more than 70 Giant Sequoia trees so far in the Sequoia National Forest.
Fox 26 News spoke with a park biologist who has been working with firefighters to save the majestic trees.
"We're trying to get in there and see what we can do to these trees that are still alive but still have some fire in them. And so we can try to get basic first aid to them in the form of water."
Garrett Dickman is a vegetation and forest management specialist. His mission is to assess damage to Giant Sequoia trees from the Windy Fire. To date, 74 trees have been destroyed by the fire.
Many groves are inaccessible but firefighters were able to save many in a popular tourist area.
"The Long Meadow grove and Trail of a Hundred Giants trailhead for a while we were pushing 20,000 gallons of water out a day on these trees. We were really cooling them down and getting the water they needed."
Dickman was able to size up damage in eleven Giant Sequoia groves. Starvation Creek grove he says got hit the worse. Only four trees dodged the flames. But he says the 2000-year-old redwoods are amazing trees.
"They can survive a lot but when they're 95% of their leaves are gone, incinerated and they're burned all the way to the inner layers of the bark they can't survive that."
When the fire first started protective aluminum foil was wrapped around the base of the trees. We asked Dickman if it helped?
"I'll give it it's okay. If it's a low fire hitting on the ground and its radiant heat it does seem to work."
But Dickman says the Windy Fire has seen flames as high as 250 feet. When fire destroys the canopy of a 200 foot Giant Sequoia he says the tree doesn't stand a chance of surviving.
Eleven groves have been hit by the Windy Fire. Dickman says seven of the groves have dead trees.
Evacuations:
Effective immediately, county officials will downgrade the following areas from Evacuation Orders to Evacuation Warnings:
- McNally’s on M99 from Sherman Pass Rd. to Corral Creek
- Johnsondale/R Ranch
A roadblock is at the Johnsondale gate. At this time, only residents are permitted to return with identification and proof of residency.
Please check the U.S. Forest Service – Sequoia Forest website for other existing forest and road closures.
Residents living in these areas may return to their homes after showing proof of residence to law enforcement officers. Proper documentation must include the person’s name and address within the impacted area. Examples include a driver’s license, utility bill or address documentation from the U.S. Post Office for people who use a post office box.
Residents returning to evacuation warning areas should be ready to leave again at a moment’s notice, as the fire is still active in some areas. Conditions may change, which may cause officials to re-issue mandatory evacuation status, if necessary.