Wildfire threat to Yosemite sequoias

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 on Sunday to protect the iconic trees and a small mountain town as the US weathers another very active year for fires.

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.”

More than 500 mature sequoias were threatened in the famed Mariposa Grove, but there were no reports of severe damage to any named trees, including the 3,000-year-old Grizzly Giant. A sprinkler system within the grove kept the tree trunks moist, and officials were hopeful that the steady spray, along with previous prescribed burns, would be enough to keep flames away, Phillipe said.

The cause of the Washburn Fire was under investigation. It had grown to nearly 2.5 square miles by Sunday morning, with no containment.

Beyond the trees, the community of Wawona, which is surrounded by parkland, was under threat, with people ordered to leave late Friday. In addition to residents, about 600 to 700 people who were staying at the Wawona campground in tents, cabins and a historic hotel were ordered to leave.

Temperatures were expected to rise and reach the lower 90s in the coming days, but fire crews working in steep terrain were not contending with intense winds, said Jeffrey Barlow, senior meteorologist with the National Weather Service in Hanford, Calif.