The ancient massive trees of Sequoia National Park’s famed Giant Forest were unscathed Tuesday even though a wildfire has been burning near them on the western side of California’s Sierra Nevada for nearly two weeks.
“As of right now we don’t have any damage to any of our trees,” said fire information officer Mark Garrett.
The KNP Complex, two lightning-sparked fires that merged, has spread over more than 39 square miles (101 square kilometers), feeding on other types of trees that also live on the high-elevation slopes of the mountain range.
Giant Forest is home to about 2,000 sequoias, including the General Sherman Tree, which is considered the world’s largest by volume and is a must-see for visitors to the national park.
The fire recently entered the perimeter of Giant Forest near a cluster of huge trees called the Four Guardsmen but their bases had been wrapped in fire-resistant material and crews had raked and cleared vegetation that could help spread the fire, Garrett said.
Firefighting crews monitored as what was described as a “low-intensity fire” passed through and made sure it did not affect the sequoias, he said.
More than 7,500 wildfires have scorched about 3,600 square miles (9,324 square kilometers) in California so far this year with historic droughts tied to climate change making wildfires harder to fight.
President Joe Biden is set to announce that the United States is doubling its purchase of Pfizer’s COVID-19 shots to share with the world for a total of one billion doses as he champions the goal of vaccinating 70% of the global population by the end of 2022.
Over 150 million shots supplied by the U.S. have been distributed to more than 100 countries, representing more donations than the rest of the world combined.
More than 5.9 billion COVID-19 doses have been administered globally over the past year, representing about forty-three percent of the global population. Although some nations have struggled to vaccinate their citizens, some not exceeding a two or three percent vaccination rate.
The World Health Organization says only fifteen percent of promised donations of vaccines — from rich countries that have access to large quantities of them — have been delivered.
A judge has found a defendant Jerome Spann guilty of fatally shooting one man and injuring another in Hibbing Minnesota nearly three years ago.
Spann waived his right to a jury trial and opted for a judge to decide his case. A court trial ended in August and Judge Rachel Sullivan issued her ruling Monday.
Prosecutors allege that Spann exited an SUV Christmas night of 2018 and fired into a group of people standing outside a residence in Hibbing, fatally injuring Jeryel McBeth and wounding Jamien Stuckey.
A sentencing date has not been set.
Casey Eakins can be reached at casey.eakins@stthomas.edu.