CA Fire Crews Find Sequoia Tree Still Smoldering From 2020 Blaze

The Castle Fire was one of seemingly countless blazes that torched nearly 4.2 million acres in California last year. This one was in Sequoia National Park, in the central Sierra Nevada mountains. Fire crews were studying the aftereffects of the blaze last week when they were surprised to find a single Sequoia tree still smoldering from the fire. It’s incredibly rare for a Sequoia, trees that evolved with fire, to continue burning for nearly a year.

It’s especially alarming that winter snows and spring rains have wetted so little of the forest that a tree is still burning.

“The fact areas are still smoldering and smoking from the 2020 Castle Fire demonstrates how dry the park is,” Leif Mathiesen, assistant fire management officer for Sequoia & Kings Canyon National Parks, said in a statement.

Photo by: National Park Service/Tony Caprio