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In Pics | Firefighters try and protect giant sequoias amid California fires

Windy Fire in the Sequoia National Forest
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Windy Fire in the Sequoia National Forest

Plumes of smoke carry through the air as the fire burns during the Windy Fire in the Sequoia National Forest near Johnsondale, California.

Flames rise
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Flames rise

In a long exposure image, flame and smoke rise into the air as trees burn during the Windy Fire. 

Firefighters to the rescue
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Firefighters to the rescue

Firefighters work to control the Windy Fire as trees burn.

Wrapping the base
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Wrapping the base

Two lightning-sparked wildfires in California have now merged and made a run to the edge of a grove of ancient sequoias. This happened as they tried to protect the world’s largest tree by wrapping its base in protective foil.

2,000 sequoias at risk
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2,000 sequoias at risk

The flames reached the westernmost tip of the Giant Forest, where it scorched a grouping of sequoias known as the Four Guardsmen. This further led to entrance to the grove of 2,000 sequoias.

The largest tree
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The largest tree

According to the National Park Service, the General Sherman Tree is the largest in the world by volume, at 52,508 cubic ft. It is 275ft high and has a circumference of 103ft at ground level.

Burned ground surrounds the base
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Burned ground surrounds the base

Burned ground surrounds the base of a tree in Long Meadow Grove, a Giant Sequoia tree grove, after fire burned through along the Trail of 100 Giants during the Windy Fire in the Sequoia National Forest near California Hot Springs, California.

Firefighters
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Firefighters

A firefighter looks up the base of a Giant Sequoia in Long Meadow Grove, a Giant Sequoia tree grove, after fire burned through along the Trail of 100 Giants during the Windy Fire in the Sequoia National Forest near California Hot Springs,