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Like every summer, California is threatened by fires. Although it is not, at the moment, one of the gigantic fires that the state on the west coast of the United States usually faces, the Washburn fire has been burning since last week in Yosemite National Park, one of the most popular in the country for its wide open spaces, its panoramic views and its redwoods.
With Los Angeles correspondent Loïc Pialat.
The fire called Washburn Fire has burned about 1,000 hectares for the moment since Thursday, July 7, without the causes having yet been determined. That’s small compared to other California fires, where megafires can destroy several thousand acres in one day.
treasures of nature
There have been no injuries or material damage. Yosemite National Park is still open to the public. But this does not eliminate the danger. In particular, we have heard from aircraft pilots flying over the area who have seen dead branches propelled hundreds of meters into the air by the explosive flames.
What is at stake is extraordinarily valuable: they are the gigantic and century-old redwoods. Five hundred of them are within reach of the flames. They are treasures of nature, wonders that are not found anywhere in the world. Californians are very attached to them. Millions of people visit Yosemite and Sequoia Park, just to the south, each year.
Sprinklers around the trunk
Last year, they wrapped the trunks of some redwoods with a kind of aluminum foil that acted as a blanket against the fire. This year, at least for now, the 600 mobilized firefighters, waiting for reinforcements, are using a rudimentary technique: they have installed automatic sprinklers at the foot of the Grizzly Giant, a 60-meter-high tree that is between 2,000 and 3,000 years old. to moisten the ground and trunk in hopes of weakening the flames if they get there.
However, these redwoods are hardy. These majestic trees have been around for hundreds of years. They are strong and are even able to withstand flames. Except now, in part because of global warming, officials say, the fires are getting hotter, the flames hotter, and even these massive redwoods are at their mercy. Last year, 3,600 redwoods died in the fire season, about 5% of the world’s population.
Risk factor’s
The evolution of this fire in the coming days is uncertain. Every year, firefighters explain that the behavior of a fire depends on several factors. Heat, of course, is the number one factor, and temperatures will rise this week, “flirting between hot and very hot,” to paraphrase one firefighter.
The other factor is humidity. It’s low in Yosemite, around 15%, which is not good news. In addition, the vegetation is dry and burning quickly after three years of drought in California. The only positive point is the wind, which is relatively weak.
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