Yosemite Fire Grows As Crews Protect Iconic Sequoias
Newsy
It's burning near the iconic grove of about 500 mature sequoias, which are the world’s biggest trees by volume.
A wildfire threatening the largest grove of giant sequoias in Yosemite National Park more than doubled in size in a day, and firefighters were working in difficult terrain Sunday to protect the iconic trees and a small mountain town.
Campers and residents near the blaze were evacuated but the rest of the sprawling park in California remained open, though heavy smoke obscured scenic vistas and created unhealthy air quality.
"Today it's actually the smokiest that we've seen," Nancy Phillipe, a Yosemite fire information spokesperson, said Sunday. "Up until this morning, the park has not been in that unhealthy category, but that is where we are now."
