In Pics | Firefighters try and protect giant sequoias amid California fires
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
In a long exposure image, flame and smoke rise into the air as trees burn during the Windy Fire.
Firefighters to the rescue
Firefighters work to control the Windy Fire as trees burn.
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
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
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
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
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,
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