A raging wildfire in the US threatens the world’s most ancient trees 

For the past decade or so, the rate of wildfires has only gone up with each passing year. Some of the most destructive wildfires that have forced the world to sit up and take notice are Australian bushfire of 2019-2020, Western United States wildfires of 2020, Amazon rainforest wildfires of 2019 and many more. To add fuel to the fire (quite literally here!), there has been a latest addition to this list: The ongoing Yosemite wildfire. It has spread across the Yosemite National Park in California, USA which houses the world’s most ancient trees. This park, some of you may know, has been part of the World Heritage Site since 1984. According to several reports, this fast-moving wildfire is currently threatening some of world’s oldest and largest trees that are native to this region. Here, let’s take a quick look at the latest developments. 

A peek into Yosemite wildfire 
Recently, the Yosemite wildfire, also known as the Washburn fire, has broken out and has surrounded one of the most popular hiking and camping spots of USA. To get the fire under control, their forest authorities have deployed hundreds of firefighters. The irony of the Yosemite wildfire is that it has been caused due to the massive heatwave as well as dry weather across California. Now that it’s raging, the wildfire is also turning up the growing heatwave. Latest reports suggest that the fire has doubled its spread overnight. Currently, it is raging across an area of 2340 acres, out of which only 25 per cent has been contained, despite the fire department’s continuous proactive measures.   

So far, the officials have done everything they can to try and put out the fire, starting from deploying air tankers and helicopters to firefighting crews (as many as 500 of them) on the ground. They are using a ground-based sprinkler system that can pump 15 to 20 gallons of water per minute. Moreover, the authorities have also been burning the dry bush, cutting down small trees and clearing ground debris to further tackle the fire from spreading. Even the campers and locals in the area have been evacuated for safety purposes. However, the Park has been kept open for the visitors, despite heavy smoke affecting the air quality around.  

The good news is, officials are now hopeful that the fire will be contained considering all ground fuels from the area have been removed. Moreover, with the rise in humidity, it is also expected that rains will hit the area soon as well.  

Yosemite National Park at a glance 
For the uninitiated, the Yosemite National Park, located in California’s Sierra Nevada mountains, was founded in 1890 and is best known for its scenic waterfalls, deep valleys, granite cliffs, vast meadows, and above all the Mariposa Grove of Giant Sequoias, the largest sequoia grove in the region. This tree grove is located in the southern part of the National Park and has about 500 mature giant sequoias, including the 200-foot tall and 2000-year-old Grizzly Giant tree. In case you are wondering what sequoia is, it is a coniferous and evergreen tree, native to California. Considering the fact that Yosemite is home to the world’s most ancient trees, it is crucial to save this park.