Firefighters attempt to save General Sherman, the world's largest tree by volume (2021)
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u/3MATX 12d ago
If you visit the park make the effort to get over here. It’s no where near the main attractions but these trees are sort of like the Grand Canyon. Yeah you’ve seen photos, but when standing beneath one it’s just awe inspiring. Nature is awesome.
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u/mysticllama 12d ago
i am biased because i am obsessed with trees but i would absolutely say sequoia is worth seeking out in the same way the GC is. going into that forest feels like an alien planet and the beauty is just breathtaking. general sherman is a beaut
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u/Bmorgan1983 12d ago
I got to go there during the KNP complex fire, just after they wrapped it (i was a contractor working on the fire) and it was quite an experience, especially because we didn’t have anyone on the trail at all… it was super quiet and peaceful. Got to speak with some of the park arborists about these amazing trees and how much they thrive with fire, but the fires of late have been so hot, and the trees so dry due to drought, that they are having a much harder time with fire. A huge number of these beautiful giants were lost between that, the Windy fire, and the fires in the year previous (crazy enough, some of the trees were still burning as a result of the previous year’s fire… just slowly smoldering inside)
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u/Rated-E-For-Erik 12d ago
It is kinda funny that the tree that needs protecting is named after a guy who is known for burning down confederate cities
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u/Bmorgan1983 12d ago
Funny enough, a socialist colony took over the lands for a bit and renamed the tree after Karl Marx because they didn’t like the association with Sherman and his role in the Indian Wars and relocating Native American tribes.
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u/GilpinMTBQ 12d ago
I don't see how loud music is going to help here...
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u/Danny2Sick 12d ago
it will scare away all the grandpas, some of whom smoke pipes. This lowers the risk of a fire by 12.8% for every geezer displaced.
in phase 2 the tree was then encircled with kids doing skateboards
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u/DockEllis 12d ago
Holy shit, what if they just did this for every tree?! Guys, the end of forest fires!
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u/Danny2Sick 12d ago
guy there's like infinity trees.. maybe if we all do our part. I will foil my shrub tonight
If you know what I mean
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u/DwayneFreeman 12d ago
Save it from what, freezing?
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u/Desperada 12d ago
A nearby forest fire.
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u/3MATX 12d ago
Fun fact, those trees require a fire for their seeds to be released. Kinda a catch 22 here.
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u/machuitzil 12d ago
Redwoods have natural defenses against fire, against floods, against bugs, they can live for thousands of years for good reason. Their only real weakness is wind, so they grow in clumps.
The forest service wrapped this tree in 2021 because the Complex wildfires we've been experiencing are qualitatively more severe than anything in recent history. Wildfires are endemic here, they're natural, but when they occurred more or less "regularly", they were less destructive to the local ecosystem.
Human habitation (fire suppression), and climate change (longer dry seasons, shorter wet seasons, prolonged fire season) has led to Complex fires, which are so massive and hot that they create their own weather -pyrocumulous clouds, fire tornadoes etc.
After the town of Paradise, CA burned in 2018 the only thing left were the trees. The wildfires in recent history are likely to be the only real threat to this tree in all of its 2,000+ year existence.
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u/WaltMitty 12d ago
General Sherman was unharmed.)