Please ensure Javascript is enabled for purposes of website accessibility
Sierra Shocker: Castle Fire Destroyed 10% of World's Giant Sequoias
gvw_ap_news
By Associated Press
Published 4 years ago on
June 3, 2021

Share

At least a tenth of the world’s mature giant sequoia trees were destroyed by a single California wildfire that tore through the southern Sierra Nevada last year, according to a draft report prepared by scientists with the National Park Service.

The Visalia Times-Delta obtained a copy of the report that describes catastrophic destruction from the Castle Fire, which charred 273 square miles of timber in Sequoia National Park.

“I cannot overemphasize how mind-blowing this is for all of us. These trees have lived for thousands of years,” — Christy Brigham, Sequoia and Kings Canyon National Parks

Researchers used satellite imagery and modeling from previous fires to determine that between 7,500 and 10,000 of the towering species perished in the fire. That equates to 10% to 14% of the world’s mature giant sequoia population, the newspaper said.

“I cannot overemphasize how mind-blowing this is for all of us. These trees have lived for thousands of years. They’ve survived dozens of wildfires already,” said Christy Brigham, chief of resources management and science at Sequoia and Kings Canyon National Parks.

Consequences for Decades

The consequences of losing large numbers of giant sequoias could be felt for decades, forest managers said. Redwood and sequoia forests are among the world’s most efficient at removing and storing carbon dioxide in the atmosphere. The groves also provide critical habitat for native wildlife and help protect the watershed that supplies farms and communities on the San Joaquin Valley floor.

Brigham, the study’s lead author, cautioned that the numbers are preliminary and the research paper has yet to be peer reviewed. Beginning next week, teams of scientists will hike to the groves that experienced the most fire damage for the first time since the ashes settled.

In this April 22, 2021, file photo, provided by the National Park Service, shows a smoldering tree in Sequoia National Park. The giant sequoia was found smoldering and smoking in an area of the park burned by the 2020 Castle Fire. At least a tenth of the world’s mature giant sequoias were destroyed by a single wildfire that tore through the southern Sierra Nevada last year, according to a draft report prepared by scientists with the National Park Service. (Tony Caprio/National Park Service via AP)

“I have a vain hope that once we get out on the ground the situation won’t be as bad, but that’s hope — that’s not science,” she said.

The newspaper said the extent of the damage to one of the world’s most treasured trees is noteworthy because the sequoias themselves are incredibly well adapted to fire. The old-growth trees — some of which are more than 2,000 years old and 250 feet (76 meters) tall — require fire to burst their pine cones and reproduce.

“One-hundred years of fire suppression, combined with climate change-driven hotter droughts, have changed how fires burn in the southern Sierra and that change has been very bad for sequoia,” Brigham said.

Significantly More Controlled Burns Needed

Sequoia and Kings Canyon have conducted controlled burns since the 1960s, about a thousand acres a year on average. Brigham estimates that the park will need to burn around 30 times that number to get the forest back to a healthy state.

The Castle Fire erupted on Aug. 19 in the Golden Trout Wilderness amid a flurry of lightning strikes. The Shotgun Fire, a much smaller blaze burning nearby, was discovered shortly afterward, and the two were renamed the Sequoia Complex.

DON'T MISS

What Are Fresno Real Estate Experts Predicting for 2025 and Beyond?

DON'T MISS

First California EV Mandates Hit Automakers This Year. Most Are Not Even Close

DON'T MISS

Dying Honey Bees Threaten CA Economy. Can Central Valley Lawmakers Save Them?

DON'T MISS

Valley Crime Stoppers’ Most Wanted Person of the Day: Andres Mojica

DON'T MISS

Kern County Wildfire Burns North of Bakersfield, 175 Acres Scorched

DON'T MISS

US Health Secretary Kennedy Says He Brought Back 722 CDC Employees, 220 at NIH

DON'T MISS

Ford Recalls 133,000 Lincoln Aviators Over Risk of Detaching Parts

DON'T MISS

Wall Street Indexes Climb After Israel-Iran Ceasefire

DON'T MISS

Fresno Police Searching for Missing 19-Year-Old Woman

DON'T MISS

US Senate Parliamentarian Says Oil, Gas Projects Can’t Skirt Environmental Review

DON'T MISS

Dollar Drops After Cease Fire Announcement

DON'T MISS

Powell Repeats Rate Cuts Can Wait as Fed Studies Tariff Impacts

UP NEXT

Fresno Police Searching for Missing 19-Year-Old Woman

UP NEXT

12-Year-Old Airlifted After Firework Accident in Visalia

UP NEXT

Fresno Armenian Museum’s Exhibit Offers Photos, Sounds of Local Genocide Survivors

UP NEXT

Fresno County Detectives Seek Man for Interview in 2020 Homicide Case

UP NEXT

Madera County Authorities Arrest Man for Impersonating a US Marshal

UP NEXT

Metallica Thrashes On at Levi’s, Aging Gracefully With Its Fans

UP NEXT

Searching For Experience, Parlier Hires New City Manager

UP NEXT

Merced County Wildfire Burns 30 Acres Near Highway 140

UP NEXT

Fresno County Supervisors to Vote on Dog Breeding Ordinance

UP NEXT

Valley Crime Stoppers’ Most Wanted Person of the Day: Melissa Helen Alexander

US Health Secretary Kennedy Says He Brought Back 722 CDC Employees, 220 at NIH

36 minutes ago

Ford Recalls 133,000 Lincoln Aviators Over Risk of Detaching Parts

49 minutes ago

Wall Street Indexes Climb After Israel-Iran Ceasefire

57 minutes ago

Fresno Police Searching for Missing 19-Year-Old Woman

1 hour ago

US Senate Parliamentarian Says Oil, Gas Projects Can’t Skirt Environmental Review

1 hour ago

Dollar Drops After Cease Fire Announcement

1 hour ago

Powell Repeats Rate Cuts Can Wait as Fed Studies Tariff Impacts

2 hours ago

US Arrests 11 Iranians in US Illegally, Homeland Security Says

2 hours ago

Explosions Ring out in Tehran Despite Trump’s Order to Israel to Stop Strikes

2 hours ago

12-Year-Old Airlifted After Firework Accident in Visalia

2 hours ago

Dying Honey Bees Threaten CA Economy. Can Central Valley Lawmakers Save Them?

This story was originally published by CalMatters. Sign up for their newsletters. Honey bees across the country are under attack from tiny, ...

23 minutes ago

23 minutes ago

Dying Honey Bees Threaten CA Economy. Can Central Valley Lawmakers Save Them?

Andres Mojica is Valley Crime Stoppers' Most Wanted Person of the Day for June 24, 2025. (Valley Crimes Stoppers)
24 minutes ago

Valley Crime Stoppers’ Most Wanted Person of the Day: Andres Mojica

A wildfire north of Bakersfield, dubbed the Granite Fire, has burned 175 acres and is 20% contained, with no reported injuries or structural damage as of Tuesday, June 24, 2025. (CalFire)
35 minutes ago

Kern County Wildfire Burns North of Bakersfield, 175 Acres Scorched

U.S. Health and Human Services (HHS) Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. testifies before a House Energy and Commerce Health Subcommittee hearing on U.S. President Donald Trump's budget request for the Department of Health and Human Services, on Capitol Hill in Washington, D.C., U.S., June 24, 2025. (Reuters/Evelyn Hockstein)
36 minutes ago

US Health Secretary Kennedy Says He Brought Back 722 CDC Employees, 220 at NIH

A Ford logo is seen on the Ford Motor World headquarters in Dearborn, Michigan, U.S., March 12, 2025. (Reuters/Rebecca Cook)
49 minutes ago

Ford Recalls 133,000 Lincoln Aviators Over Risk of Detaching Parts

A trader works on the floor at the New York Stock Exchange (NYSE) in New York City, U.S., June 23, 2025. (Reuters File)
57 minutes ago

Wall Street Indexes Climb After Israel-Iran Ceasefire

Fresno police are searching for 19-year-old Zainab Saeed, who was last seen on Thursday, June 12, 2025, near Brawley and San Jose avenues. (Fresno PD)
1 hour ago

Fresno Police Searching for Missing 19-Year-Old Woman

The dome of the U.S. Capitol is seen in Washington, D.C., U.S., March 11, 2025. (Reuters File)
1 hour ago

US Senate Parliamentarian Says Oil, Gas Projects Can’t Skirt Environmental Review

Help continue the work that gets you the news that matters most.

Search

Send this to a friend