New feature explains how giant sequoia's relationship with fire has changed
Save the Redwoods League and Pitch Interactive have put together a new online story and data visualization that tells the fascinating story of the relationship between giant sequoia and fire.
New data from the 2020 Castle Fire shows that the wildfire caused an unprecedented loss of giant sequoia. As of mid-October, about 16,563 acres have burned in the giant sequoia range (roughly 34 percent of the range), most of which is old growth. But preliminary data suggest that roughly 40% of the burned areas within the sequoia groves burned at high severity, which means there will be potentially very large losses of ancient giant sequoia in this one fire.
Fire in the giant sequoia ranges of the Sierra Nevada is not new, and is in fact a necessary ecological feature. What is new is this level of severity that poses a unique challenge to these ancient trees that have thrived for millennia alongside fire. This story is compellingly told in a new online feature and data visualization from Save the Redwoods League and Pitch Interactive. Learn about the giant sequoia’s unique relationship with fire, and what makes modern fires so different from what the trees have experienced in the past.
