SEQUOIAS LARGELY UNSCATHED BY BLAZES

The ancient massive trees of Sequoia National Park’s famed Giant Forest were unscathed Tuesday even though a wildfire has been burning near them on the western side of California’s Sierra Nevada for nearly two weeks.

“As of right now we don’t have any damage to any of our trees,” said fire information officer Mark Garrett.

The KNP Complex, two lightning-sparked fires that merged, has spread over more than 25,142 acres, feeding on other types of trees that also live on the high-elevation slopes of the mountain range.

Giant Forest is home to about 2,000 sequoias, including the General Sherman Tree, which is considered the world’s largest by volume.

The fire recently entered the perimeter of Giant Forest near a cluster of huge trees called the Four Guardsmen but their bases had been wrapped in fire-resistant material and crews had raked and cleared vegetation that could help spread the fire, Garrett said.

Firefighting crews monitored as what was described as a “low-intensity fire” passed through and made sure it did not affect the sequoias, he said.

But other areas have not been so lucky. The Windy fire, which is burning to the south of the KNP, moved into Long Meadow Grove, home of the famed Trail of 100 Giants, and at least one sequoia known as the Bench Tree was significantly damaged. More remote stands like the Peyrone Grove also have been “completely surrounded” by wildfire, officials said, though it was too soon to tell whether any trees had been killed.

Meanwhile, firefighters Tuesday were turning their attention toward the historic communities of Cabin Cove, Silver City and Mineral King, where some of the hundredyear-old cabins were about 3 miles from the edge of the KNP Complex.

“We have a structure group up in Mineral King that is either wrapping structures, enhancing their defensible space or setting up sprinklers around some of these cabins just in case,” Garrett said.