Sequoia Park is a wonderful retreat situated around 80 miles to the East of Fresno in California, and as we know it, it has huge Sequoia trees. Sequoia trees are among the largest trees in existence since they can grow more than 250 ft tall. Now, firefighters and officials are wrapping the bases of these giant trees in blankets of aluminum foil, which is quite intriguing.
The KNP Complex fire raged throughout California last year and took down tens of thousands of acres in its grasp. It was imperative to save the high-priority and important trees from the fire; otherwise, the damage would be even more catastrophic.
The General Sherman Tree, which is over 275 ft in length and is the world’s largest tree, needed the aluminum foil blanket to be protected by the fire raging in the forest at the time. The tree has survived for thousands of years and has seen it all, from earthquakes to destructive wildfires.
What Does The Aluminum Foil Do?
The aluminum foil is not thin and flimsy like the kind we have in kitchens, and it is much thicker and more effective as well. The blanket of foil reaches over six feet on the base of the Sequoia trees.
The foil created a shiny protective armor on the bases of the trees where embers could bounce off, preventing the tree from catching a spark. The foil also reflects the heat away from the tree, so it does not get any heat damage.
Is It Effective?
The General Sherman tree is over 275 feet tall, and the other sequoias in the park are also huge, at least over 655 feet. Compared to their height, the six-foot-long covering of aluminum foil doesn’t really compare, and we cannot call it ample protection and armor against the raging fire. However, the method did seem to be fairly effective since the trees are currently safe.
Are There Any Other Measures?
The service people were able to clear the flammable vegetation surrounding the tree and any litter they found. If nothing in the proximity of the sequoias catches fire, then the trees themselves would also be safe.
Other than that, the Park Service has been responsible for controlled burning throughout the forest since the 1960s. This controlled burning was eventually the saving grace for the giant sequoias, and they could survive the raging fires.
What Is Next?
While the sequoias have survived for over a thousand years now and have survived countless wildfires, our duty to the Earth has only increased. Due to the recent state of climate emergency, wildfires now are intense and happen much more frequently than they used.
Naturally, this has concerned the government officials, who now need to protect the sequoias with even more fervor and vigilance than ever before. We can only hope the world is able to curb the climate crisis in the coming years so that these magnificent trees can survive longer.