A wildfire threatening the largest grove of giant sequoias in Yosemite National Park more than doubled in size in a day, and firefighters are working in difficult terrain to protect the iconic trees and a small mountain town.
Campers and residents near the blaze were evacuated, but the rest of the sprawling park in California remained open, though heavy smoke obscured scenic vistas and created unhealthy air quality on Sunday.
“Today it’s actually the smokiest that we’ve seen,” Nancy Phillipe, a Yosemite fire information spokesperson, said on Sunday.
“Up until this morning, the park has not been in that unhealthy category, but that is where we are now.”
More than 500 mature sequoias were threatened in the famed Mariposa Grove but there were no reports of severe damage to any named trees, including the 3,000-year-old Grizzly Giant.