Record heat expected this week in the West
https://www.cnn.com/2021/05/31/weather/record-heat-west-forecast/index.html
#fires
#Redwoods #Sequoia_Sempervirens #Ancient #Trees #Big_Basin_State_Park #Historical #Landmark #Coastal #Forest #SantaCruz #County #Fires #Survival #Nature #Beautiful #Northern #California #August252020
ANCIENT REDWOODS SURVIVE WILDFIRE AT CALIFORNIA'S OLDEST STATE PARK
By Martha Mendoza
Published: Tuesday, 25 August 2020
Wildfires | Associated Press
BOULDER CREEK, Calif. - When a massive wildfire swept through California’s oldest state park last week it was feared many trees in a grove of old-growth redwoods, some of them 2,000 years old and among the tallest living things on Earth, may finally have succumbed.
But an Associated Press reporter and photographer hiked the renowned Redwood Trail at Big Basin Redwoods State Park on Monday and confirmed most of the ancient redwoods had withstood the blaze. Among the survivors is one dubbed 'Mother of the Forest'.
“That is such good news, I can’t tell you how much that gives me peace of mind,” said Laura McLendon, conservation director for the Sempervirens Fund, an environmental group dedicated to the protection of redwoods and their habitats.
Redwood forests are meant to burn, she said, so reports earlier this week that the state park was “gone” were misleading.
The historic park headquarters is gone, as are many small buildings and campground infrastructure that went up in flames as fire swept through the park about 45 miles south of San Francisco.
“But the forest is not gone,” McLendon said. “It will regrow. Every old-growth redwood I’ve ever seen, in Big Basin and other parks, has fire scars on them. They’ve been through multiple fires, possibly worse than this.”
When forest fires, windstorms and lightning hit redwood trees, those that don’t topple can resprout. Mother of the Forest, for example, used to be 329 feet tall, the tallest tree in the park. After the top broke off in a storm, a new trunk sprouted where the old growth had been.
Trees that fall feed the forest floor, and become nurse trees from which new redwoods grow. Forest critters, from banana slugs to insects, thrive under logs.
On Monday, Steller’s jays searched for insects around the park’s partially burned outdoor amphitheater and woodpeckers could be heard hammering on trees. Occasionally a thundering crash echoed through the valley as large branches or burning trees fell.
When Big Basin opened in 1902 it marked the genesis of redwood conservation. The park now receives about 250,000 visitors a year from around the world, and millions have walked the Redwood Trail.
The park only recently reopened after COVID-19 related closures and now is closed because of the fire. The road in is blocked by several large trees that fell across it, some waist-high, some still on fire.
While there is a great deal of work to be done rebuilding campgrounds, clearing trails and managing damaged madrones, oaks and firs, Big Basin will recover, McLendon said.
“The forest, in some ways, is resetting,” she said.
State Parks District Superintendent Chris Spohrer said he was pleased to know the redwoods had survived. He said an assessment team had only been able to check buildings so far, and that he hopes they can inspect the trees in the coming days.
“The reason those trees are so old is because they are really resilient,” he said.
LONG LIVE THE CALIFORNIA REDWOOD! 💗
Photo: Smoke hangs low in the air at Big Basin Redwoods State Park on Saturday - 22 August 2020
Photography by Kent Nishimura
(Los Angeles Times)
#Redwoods #Sequoia_Sempervirens #Ancient #Trees #Big_Basin_State_Park #Historical #Landmark #Coastal #Forest #SantaCruz #County #Fires #Survival #Nature #Beautiful #Northern #California #August242020
California fires: Burned redwoods at Big Basin, other parks will recover soon, experts say
Studies after other fires in redwood forests found trees turned green in months
Monday, 24 August 2020
The historic fire that roared through the ancient redwoods of Big Basin Redwoods State Park in Santa Cruz County, blackening all 18,000 acres of California’s oldest state park and destroying its historic buildings, has drawn international attention and prompted an outpouring of grief and concern.
But fire scientists who have carefully studied other coastal redwood forests after wildfires have surprisingly good news: Don’t worry. Even though they look terrible now, most of the trees will recover.
Not in 100 years. But much sooner. Amazingly, most of the giant, scorched black trees will begin sprouting green leaves again by this winter, they say, when rains begin. Coast redwoods, the tallest trees on Earth, have the Latin name Sequoia Sempervirens, which means “ever-living Sequoia.” Their breathtaking ability to stand tall in the face of floods, fires and other calamities is how they live to be up to 2,000 years old.
Big Basin is California's oldest State Park, established in 1902, earning its designation as a California Historical Landmark. Its original 3,800 acres (15 km2) have been increased over the years to over 18,000 acres (73 km2). It is part of the Northern California coastal forests ecoregion and is home to the largest continuous stand of ancient coast redwoods south of San Francisco. It contains 10,800 acres (44 km2) of old-growth forest, as well as recovering redwood forest, with mixed conifer, oaks, chaparral and riparian habitats.
LONG LIVE THE CALIFORNIA REDWOOD! 💗
#Fires #Our #Beautiful #Northern #California #Devastated #PrayForCalifornia #LNU_Lightning_Complex #Headlines #August242020
Raging California Wildfires Displace 120,000, Burn 1.2 Million Acres
MONDAY, 24 AUGUST 2020
Record wildfires in California have prompted officials to issue new red flag warnings, with high temperatures and gusty winds threatening to make an already historic series of wildfires even worse. At least six people have died, and nearly 120,000 have fled their homes, as 1.2 million acres have already burned — an area larger than the state of Rhode Island. Two of the wildfires rank as the second- and third-largest fires in California’s history. The fires were triggered by an estimated 12,000 dry lightning strikes amid a record-shattering heat wave driven by the climate crisis.
Smoke from California wildfires is now visible in Kansas
As wildfires continue to rage throughout California, residual plumes of smoke have drifted all the way to the Midwest, reaching as far as the northwestern region of Kansas.
Crews on LNU Complex fires prepare for small chance of lightning Monday
Updated 9:54 am PDT
Multiple wildfires are burning in the greater North Bay. Cal Fire is referring to them collectively as the LNU Lightning Complex. LNU stands for Cal Fire’s Sonoma-Lake-Napa Unit, and you can find the latest evacuation info here. A map of the fire is available here. The biggest fires are:
Hennessey Fire (merged with Gamble, Green, Aetna, Markley, Morgan, Spanish and Round): Napa County, 293,602 acres, 26% contained
Walbridge Fire (merged with Stewarts): Sonoma County, west of Healdsburg, 54,068 acres, 5% contained
Meyers Fire Sonoma County, north of Jenner, 2,360 acres, 95% contained
Crews on the LNU Lightning Complex in the North Bay are preparing for the possibility of dry lightning and high winds Monday morning and afternoon, as thunderstorms move across Northern California.
“The Red Flag Warning continues until 5 p.m. today,” Cal Fire said in its Monday morning status report. “Thunderstorms are still predicted throughout the day, which causes erratic winds, extreme fire behavior within the existing fires, and has the potential for new fire starts.” (Find the full Cal Fire report here. ) see link -→
PRAY FOR CALIFORNIA ~ Heartbroken
#ThisWeekInPictures: Oct. 14 - 21 by NBC News
Battle for Mosul begins, presidential candidates have a laugh at dinner, a pygmy anteater makes its debut, and more.
14 PHOTOS
1. #Iraqi #soldiers #walk on a #road as #smoke billows from the #Qayyarah #area, about 35 miles south of #Mosul, on Oct. 19, 2016, during an #operation against #ISIL to retake the main hub #city. In the biggest Iraqi #military operation in years, #forces have retaken dozens of #villages, mostly south and east of Mosul, and are planning multiple #assaults for October 20.
YASIN AKGUL / AFP - Getty Images
2. #Commuters are #dressed in #black and #white or #dark colored #clothing mourning the #death of Thailand's King Bhumibol Adulyadej during the #morning rush hour at a #station in #Bangkok on Oct. 17.
ISSEI KATO / Reuters
3. 89th Airlift Wing Vice Commander Col. Christopher M. Thompson loses his hat with the blast from #Air #Force #One, with #President Barack #Obama aboard, as it departs from #Andrews Air Force #Base, Md. on Oct. 20 en route to #Miami to encourage #people to sign up for #health care coverage under the Affordable Care Act during an upcoming enrollment period.
Jose Luis Magana / AP
4. A #street #vendor selling #paintings #drinks hot #tea while waiting for #customers on a #sidewalk in central #Lviv, #Ukraine on Oct. 20.
GLEB GARANICH / Reuters
5. #Democratic presidential #candidate Hillary #Clinton, Cardinal Timothy Dolan, #Archbishop of #NewYork, and #Republican presidential candidate Donald #Trump share a laugh during the Alfred E. Smith #Memorial #Foundation #dinner on Oct. 20 in New York.
Evan Vucci / AP
6. A #Ukrainian #serviceman #fires a 2S7 Pion self-propelled #gun during #military #exercises near the #village of #Divychky in #Kiev #region, #Ukraine on Oct. 21.
VALENTYN OGIRENKO / Reuters
7. North #Korean #traffic #police #women chat next to a #residential #building while off duty on Oct. 18, 2016, in #Pyongyang, North #Korea.
Wong Maye-E / AP
8. A vet holds a #pygmy anteater, also known as a #silky #anteater, at the #Huachipa #Zoo, on the outskirts of #Lima, #Peru on Oct. 19. The zoo presented on Wednesday three anteater #species: #giant #bears, #tamanduas, and #pygmies, during an #event to promote their pair of silky #anteaters, who just turned 11 years old. The zoo is preparing a #breeding #program of this #rare species, that does not exceed 13 cm.
Martin Mejia / AP
9. Newly displaced #people wait to receive #food #supplies at a #processing center for displaced people In #Qayyara, south of #Mosul, #Iraq on Oct. 21.
ZOHRA BENSEMRA / Reuters
10. #Soldiers of the #Sudan #People #Liberation #Army ( #SPLA ) #celebrate while standing in #trenches in #Lelo, outside #Malakal, northern South #Sudan, on Oct. 16. Heavy #fighting #broke out on October 14 between the #government's SPLA and #opposition #forces in #Wajwok and Lalo #villages, outside Malakal. SPLA #commanders claim they succeeded to keep their positions and assure their #forces just responded "on self #defence".
ALBERT GONZALEZ FARRAN / AFP - Getty Images
11. #Smoke rises from a #building after #shelling in the #rebel held besieged #town of #Douma, eastern #Ghouta in #Damascus, #Syria on Oct. 19.
BASSAM KHABIEH / Reuters
12. #Migrants are seen during #rescue #operation in the #Mediterranea #Sea on Oct. 20.
Yara Nardi / Italian Red Cross via Reuters
13. #Members of an #evangelic #church attend church #damaged by #Hurricane #Matthew, in the commune of #Roche-a-Bateaux, in #LesCayes, #Haiti, on Oct. 16. U.N. Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon voiced distress at the "absolute #devastation" caused by the deadly hurricane in Haiti, and disappointment at the little #emergency #aid reaching the struggling #nation.
HECTOR RETAMAL / AFP - Getty Images
14. The #Orbital #ATK #Antares #rocket, with the #Cygnus #spacecraft onboard stands on launch Pad-0A during sunrise at #NASA's #Wallops #Flight #Facility on Oct. 16 in Wallops #Island, #Virginia. Orbital ATK's sixth contracted #cargo resupply #mission with NASA to the #ISS will deliver over 5,100 pounds of #science and #research, #crew supplies and #vehicle #hardware to the orbital #laboratory and its crew.
Bill Ingalls/NASA / NASA via Getty Images
#image #photo #picture #pictures #foto #photography #photograph