giant sequoias

15 Stories

World's Largest Tree Passes Health Check

Giant sequoia 'seems to be a very healthy tree that's able to fend off any beetle attack'

(Newser) - High in the evergreen canopy of General Sherman, the world's largest tree, researchers searched for evidence of an emerging threat to giant sequoias: bark beetles. The climbers descended the towering 2,200-year-old California tree with good news this week, the AP reports. The General Sherman tree is doing fine...

Wildfire Threatens Yosemite's Iconic Giant Sequoias

Out-of-control blaze burns near Mariposa Grove in national park

(Newser) - The largest grove of giant sequoias in Yosemite National Park is under threat by a growing wildfire. More than 500 of the iconic trees were threatened in the Mariposa Grove, though as of Saturday there were no reports of severe damage to any named trees, including the 3,000-year-old Grizzly...

Thousands of Sequoias Must Be Chopped Down

Trees pose danger after California wildfires

(Newser) - Thousands of California's famed giant sequoias are doomed in the wake of devastating wildfires that have swept the Sierra Nevada. Per ABC News , upwards of 10,000 of the trees, which can reach 275 feet and live for 3,000 years or more, must be culled for safety reasons....

Calif. Wildfires Deliver a 'Heartbreaking' Loss

Hundreds of giant sequoias are believed to have burned

(Newser) - Northern California wildfires may have killed hundreds of giant sequoias as they swept through groves of the majestic monarchs in the Sierra Nevada, an official said Wednesday. "It's heartbreaking," Christy Brigham, head of resources management and science for Sequoia and Kings Canyon national parks, told the AP...

Special Blankets Helped Save World's Biggest Trees

Recent controlled burns also kept sequoias safe in California

(Newser) - The general is safe, for now. The reference is to the world's biggest tree, known as General Sherman, in California's Sequoia National Park, reports NPR . Encroaching wildfires had forest workers scrambling to protect the ancient trees last week, and their efforts appear to have paid off. Not only...

California's Massive, Ancient Trees Again in Danger

Wildfires bear down on giant sequoias

(Newser) - Some of the largest trees on the planet are in danger as wildfires rage in Sequoia and Kings Canyon national parks in California. Some of the sequoia trees in the Giant Forest area were being wrapped with fire-resistant aluminum material Thursday, the Los Angeles Times reports. The area around some...

After 2020 Wildfire, Giant Sequoia Is Still Smoldering

This shows how dry Sequoia National Park still is, officials say

(Newser) - A giant sequoia has been found smoldering and smoking in a part of Sequoia National Park that burned in one of California's huge wildfires last year, the National Park Service said Wednesday. "The fact areas are still smoldering and smoking from the 2020 Castle Fire demonstrates how dry...

Giant Trees Survived Hundreds of Fires. Then Came 2020

Wildfire devastated sequoia groves in California

(Newser) - Giant sequoias haven't just adapted to survive periodic wildfires, they rely on them for reproduction—but fires of the last few years have been very different. Researchers assessing the damage from September's Castle fire in California say it killed hundreds, possibly more than a thousand, of the enormous...

Idaho Is Moving 98-Foot Sequoia 2 Blocks Away

No big deal

(Newser) - A large sequoia tree linked to a famous naturalist was standing in the way of progress. So more than a century after it was planted as a sapling in a doctor's yard in Boise, Idaho, the 10-story tree is on the move, shifting across the street to make way...

Scientists Have Solved a Sequoia Mystery
Scientists Solve
Sequoia Mystery
Mar 29, 2017 8:14 PM CDT

Scientists Solve Sequoia Mystery

Dust from Gobi desert helps them grow: study

(Newser) - The sequoia trees of California's Sierra Nevada mountain range are obvious marvels. But according to new research , an unlikely and far-off source deserves a significant portion of the credit for allowing them to stand tall. The mineral that helps trees grow, phosphorus, is actually found in short supply in...

Storm Takes Out Famous Calif. 'Tunnel Tree'

Pioneer Cabin sequoia toppled in Calaveras Big Trees State Park after heavy rains, flooding

(Newser) - Thunderstorms wreaked havoc throughout northern Nevada and California over the weekend, causing heavy rain, mudslides, and the demise of one of the region's most famous giant sequoias. The Pioneer Cabin tree, described by the Los Angeles Times as "one of Calaveras County's oldest residents," fell...

If Drought Continues, Giant Sequoias Could Disappear

California's 3-year drought threatens 3K-year-old trees

(Newser) - Scientists are working hard to prevent a "what-if" scenario that could be caused by California’s epic three-year drought—the disappearance of the state's ancient giant sequoias. "A world where a child can’t stare up in wonder at a giant cathedral-like crown is a very real...

Scientists Clone 'Unclonable' Tree

Critics thought John Muir's famed giant sequoia was too old to clone

(Newser) - Big news in the world of horticulture—literally. Scientists have managed to successfully clone a genetic replica of a famed giant sequoia. Three reasons why this is a big deal: The 70-foot tree was planted by John Muir, who had a heavy hand in the founding of Yosemite and Sequoia...

Yosemite Fire Now Threatens Giant Sequoias

Officials dig in as blaze looms 4 miles away

(Newser) - The Yosemite wildfire that is threatening to take out San Francisco's utilities now has some of the planet's biggest and oldest living things in its crosshairs: Firefighters are digging in around two groves of giant sequoias—about three dozen in all—taking the precautions of setting sprinklers and...

Redwoods Growing at Fastest Rate Ever

 Redwoods Growing 
 at Fastest Rate Ever 
new study
Aug 14, 2013 7:18 AM CDT

Redwoods Growing at Fastest Rate Ever

And we may have climate change to thank

(Newser) - Not a phrase you typically see associated with climate change: "a wonderful, happy surprise." But that's what the science director at the Save the Redwoods League had to say to the Los Angeles Times about the news that coast redwoods and giant sequoias have grown at their...

15 Stories
Most Read on Newser