Growing armies of firefighters battled wildfires in the heart of California’s sequoia country on Wednesday.
A big increase in personnel put more than 1,400 firefighters on the lines of the KNP Complex fire in Sequoia National Park, fire information officer Ana Beatriz Cholo said.
The fire remained a threat to the park’s famed Giant Forest. But the weather was expected to clear out smoke and allow aircraft to begin operations against the flames.
Weather conditions that trap smoke have the benefit of reducing fire activity but also can make it unsafe to fly.
The fire earlier entered a portion of Giant Forest, but none of its famous gigantic trees were harmed, officials have said.
For decades, the grove of 2,000 sequoias has been regularly subjected to prescribed burns that clear out other types of vegetation that could intensify fire and carry it to the crowns of the trees.