giant sequoia and fire

Overhead view of a few firefighters watching smoldering burn piles in green scrub in the shadow of tall trees.

Banned for 100 years, cultural burns could save sequoias 

by Kristina Malsberger on

On a cloudless day in California’s Sierra Nevada, the Tule River Indian, North Fork Mono, and Tübatulabal Tribes gathered to lead a small cultural burning demonstration in the Alder Creek Grove. Since the California ban was lifted in 2022, only two off-reservation cultural burns have taken place in the giant sequoia range: The demonstration at Alder Creek Grove and an earlier burn led by the Tule River Indian Tribe on Forest Service land.

Giant sequoia seedling

Can the giant sequoias recover on their own?

by Juliet Grable on

Two new comprehensive research studies published by the USGS Western Ecological Research Center discuss the drastically low number of seedlings found in sequoia groves in the wake of recent mega-fires. Their findings: inadequate natural seedling recovery and high tree mortality rates create a substantial risk of losing portions of sequoia groves.

Two female restoration workers in neon-green vests smile in front of a partially burned sequia forest

So long, Long Meadow, we’re packed for Packsaddle!

by Save the Redwoods League on

As winter approaches, Save the Redwoods League staff are raising mugs of hot cocoa to toast a wildly productive work season in the giant sequoia range. The big win: Completing risk-reduction and wildfire resilience work in Long Meadow Grove, which …

A woman stands next to a giant sequoia tree among burned giant sequoia, with the sun shining.

Giant sequoias’ declining wildfire resilience

by Garrison Frost on

For millennia, one of the defining characteristics of giant sequoias has been their innate resilience to wildfire. But in the last several years, severe fires in the Sierra Nevada have revealed an unprecedented vulnerability in the groves. League staffers’ publication in a scientific journal is the first to document this new phenomenon.

Two firegfighters stand on a ridge with fire and smoke

Backburning: fighting fire with fire

by Linnea Hardlund on

Fire crews use backburning to protect important values such as homes, giant sequoia groves, and infrastructure like the Sequoia National Parks headquarters during the KNP Complex fire.

A giant sequoia grove

Windy Fire reaches Red Hill

by Dana Viloria on

As the Windy Fire burns in Red Hill, the League needs supporters to champion prescribed burning and fire resilience work.