FRESNO (AP) — A lightning-sparked wildfire in California’s Sierra National Forest burned Tuesday through a grove of giant sequoias and set some of the ancient towering trees on fire.

Wildland firefighters with tree-climbing experience were being sent in to put out the fire burning in the canopies of the beloved trees, said Jay Tracy, a spokesperson for the Garnet Fire ablaze in Fresno County.

To protect the majestic trees, some estimated to be 3,000 years old, fire crews laid sprinkler lines to increase ground moisture, wrapped the trunks with fire-resistant foil blankets, raked flammable material away from trees and patrolled the area looking for hotspots, he said.

Sequoias grow naturally only in a 260-mile (420 kilometers) belt of forest on the western slopes of the Sierra Nevada m

See Full Page