This post summarizes the latest developments around the Garnet Fire in California’s Sierra National Forest. It explains how firefighters and land managers are racing to protect the 100-acre McKinley Grove of giant sequoias.
I draw on three decades of experience working with forest fire response and sequoia ecology to explain what’s happening. I will describe what tools are being used and why this event matters for these ancient giants.
What’s happening now: Garnet Fire and McKinley Grove
The Garnet Fire, which ignited on August 24, has burned into the southeast side of McKinley Grove in Fresno County. This 100-acre stand contains some of the planet’s most iconic trees, with individuals estimated to be as old as 3,000 years.
Responders face a difficult mix of hot, dry conditions and more intense fire behavior than the low-intensity burns giant sequoias evolved with. The immediate priority is to prevent canopy flames from spreading through the grove and to minimize long-term damage to these irreplaceable trees.
Firefighting tactics inside a sequoia grove
Fire teams with specialized tree-climbing expertise are being deployed to attack flames in the canopies — a delicate and hazardous task. Protecting large, ancient sequoias requires both direct suppression and preventative measures tailored to preserve trunks, roots, and soil.
On-the-ground tactics include the following measures being implemented around McKinley Grove:
Why these methods matter
Each tactic addresses a particular vulnerability of giant sequoias. Sprinklers lower surface fire intensity, foil wraps shield the trunk’s living tissue, and debris removal prevents surface fires from climbing into crowns.
Tree-climbing crews can suppress active canopy fires that ground teams cannot reach safely. These interventions are time-sensitive: once crown fire becomes established, even the largest sequoias can suffer lethal damage to their cambium or root systems due to prolonged heating.
Sequoia ecology: adapted to low-intensity fire, not megafire
Giant sequoias (Sequoiadendron giganteum) evolved to depend on periodic, low-intensity fires that open cones and clear understory competition. Their thick, fibrous bark and elevated crowns historically protected them from surface fires.
However, decades of fire suppression, drought, and fuels accumulation have set the stage for fires that burn with much greater intensity than the trees are adapted to withstand. The Garnet Fire’s higher intensity is the core concern: when flames reach and burn in the canopy, the probability of severe sequoia injury increases markedly.
Why McKinley Grove matters to people and ecosystems
McKinley Grove is part of a narrow 260-mile range along the Sierra Nevada where these trees occur naturally. Some specimens exceed 300 feet in height and represent both a cultural touchstone and a critical ecological component of their landscapes.
Officials have emphasized that these trees are “near and dear” to local communities — a sentiment echoed by scientists who value sequoias for biodiversity, carbon storage, and as living archives of environmental history.
Outlook and what to watch next
With dry, warm weather expected to persist, the key indicators to follow are fire behavior at the grove’s canopy level. Success of suppression and protection measures will also be important, along with post-fire monitoring for delayed tree mortality.
Even if immediate flames are controlled, long-term stress from heat and smoke can lead to decline over months to years.
Here is the source article for this story: Giant sequoia trees burn in California wildfire sparked by lightning