California wildfires have killed thousands of sequoias

Wildfires in California killed up to 3,637 large giant sequoia trees this year, according to the National Park Service.

“These losses make up approximately 3-5% of the world’s population of large giant sequoias,” the National Park Service said in a statement.

This is the second year in a row that wildfires devastated sequoias in California.

In 2020, as much as 14% of the world’s native population of sequoias was lost in wildfires.

“The sobering reality is that we have seen another huge loss within a finite population of these iconic trees that are irreplaceable in many lifetimes,” says Sequoia and Kings Canyon National Parks Superintendent Clay Jordan.

While the numbers are devastating, the Park Service says efforts to protect the trees helped save many of them this year.

“As this year’s wildfires approached sequoia groves, firefighters deployed new tactics that reduced losses to these trees from high severity fire,” the Park Service said.

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