by Merrill Goozner

GoozNews

The 2022 Washburn fire nearly reached Grizzly Giant, the giant sequoia thought to be somewhere between 2000 and 3000 years old. Only the heroic efforts of park rangers and firefighters saved the tree:

But the fire’s aftermath could be seen throughout the southern portion of the park. Started by man, exacerbated by misguided fire suppression strategies (now abandoned), and fueled by a ten-year drought directly related to global warming.

But with every new day there’s hope:

We’ll be back next week.

Merrill Goozner (pictures and commentary by Merrill)