THREE RIVERS, Calif. (Reuters) -Fire crews in California have resorted to wrapping the bases of some giant sequoias in fire-resistant coverings in a desperate effort to save the towering specimens, including the General Sherman, the world’s largest tree, the National Park Service said on Friday. It was burning about a mile (1.6 km) from Sequoia National Park’s Giant Forest, home to the General Sherman, the largest tree on Earth by volume, park service spokesman Mark Garrett said. Still, Garrett said, the park service was taking no chances with the General Sherman and a few of the other big trees. Other steps the park service said it has taken to protect the sequoias are prescribed burns, which would reduce the amount of available fuel in case KNP complex reaches them. (Writing and addtional reporting by Peter Szekely in New YorkEditing by Aurora Ellis and Matthew Lewis)

Source: MetroXpress September 17, 2021 18:40 UTC