FIRE

Sequoia National Park, workers create a controlled fire to prevent....the fires: photos

The sequoia National Park is one of the true treasures of Sierra Nevada, California. However, this corner of paradise is threatened every year by fires, which increasingly ravage huge areas of land. It is estimated that 20 percent of the park has been destroyed in the past three years by fire. U.S. firefighters have therefore initiated an action aimed at decreasing the risk of fire in the area, paradoxically using fire.

Prescribed fire is a technique used since the mid-twentieth century, whereby certain particularly flammable areas, such as dry shrubs for example, are set on fire to prevent any fire from spreading uncontrollably.

This technique is now widely used, but it takes tremendous preparation and experience to safely put it into practice. Impressive photos of the redwood forest, where the grandeur of the trees makes everything very striking and fascinating.

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Sequoia National Park - Firefighters use prescribed fire to protect forest

A firefighter from the Sequoia National Forest uses a drop flashlight while burning prescribed piles near young giant sequoias.

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Sequoia National Park - Firefighters use prescribed fire to protect the forest

According to the Forest Service, fires have destroyed nearly 20 percent of all giant sequoias in the past three years due to the accumulation of "hazardous fuel." In this circumstance, fuel is understood as hazardous vegetation, such as dry shrubs, very windy areas, as well as wood and animal carcasses. This is now established practice in forest preservation.

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Sequoia National Park - Firefighters use prescribed fire to protect forest

Last year, the Forest Service initiated an emergency action to reduce the danger caused by dry vegetation in 12 groves of giant sequoias in the Sequoia National Forest, including prescribed pile burning to reduce fire risk.

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Sequoia National Park - Firefighters use prescribed fire to protect forest

The Sequoia National Park was established in 1890 as the second national park in the United States, after the national park at Yellowstone. It covers an area of 1635.14 square kilometers, and contains within it Mount Whitney (4421 meters above sea level), the highest mountain in the United States excluding Alaska and Hawaii. The main attraction is the presence of the giant sequoia tree, including General Sherman, one of the largest trees on Earth.

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Sequoia National Park - Firefighters use prescribed fire to protect forest

These massive trees can live for more than 3,000 years and have an average height of 180 to 250 feet.

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Sequoia National Park - Firefighters use prescribed fire to protect forest

The prescribed fire technique has been used since the first half of the 20th century in various forest, shrub, savanna and grassland environments in North America, Australasia, Asia and Africa. Since the late 1970s, the technique has also been adopted in Europe.

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Sequoia National Park - Firefighters use prescribed fire to protect forest

Prescribed fire is not only used for fire prevention. Its other purposes are the training of firefighting personnel themselves, the selection of some particular tree species that need to be preserved for pastoral purposes, and also for the ecological conservation of the affected habitat.

01/01/1970

01/01/1970

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