Site icon Wonderful Engineering

Firefighters Have Wrapped The World’s Largest Tree In Foil – To Protect It From Wildfires

Well that’s one way to save the environment…

In a series of wildfires emerging in California, it looks like firefights are left with no option other than to wrap the massive sequoia trees in fire-resistant blankets. Among the wrapped trees is the 2500 years old General Sherman, which is a 275-foot long specimen and believed to be the largest tree in the world.

In a post shared on Twitter, the tragic reality of the 10,000 sequoia trees is revealed which were destroyed by the wildfire last year and about 2000 more are in danger of getting burnt to a crisp. The post also shows the picture of the General Sherman, whose gigantic trunk is wrapped in foil to protect it against the fire.

To stop the fire from stretching over Sequoia National Park, more than 350 firefighters are on duty and trying their best to stop the fire from spreading to other areas. “It’s a very significant area for many, many people, so a lot of special effort is going into protecting this grove. Some of the massive trees “are being prepped the same way that we would prep structures” remarked Rebecca Paterson, a spokeswoman for Sequoia and Kings Canyon National Parks. For this reason, trees are being wrapped in aluminum blankets and the surrounding vegetation is being cleared to stop the further spread of the fire.

The blankets that are being used on the trees are made from the same material that is used to wrap houses in wildfire endangered areas and are seen as the last resort to stop the fire. It’s a heart-breaking incident that could affect thousands of more trees if it continues to spread, even killing the largest tree in the world.

Exit mobile version