Deep within the trunks of an ancient grove of big-cone Douglas fir trees lie traces of a megadrought 450 years in the past. But signs of the worst drought these trees have ever seen can now be found just beneath their bark.
The authorities in Yosemite National Park are hopeful that a sprinkler system can save the Grizzly Giant, a more than 200-foot-tall sequoia that dates back at least 2,000 years.
In September, lightning sparked wildfires in California that spread to more than 185,000 acres, including to sequoia groves that are home to some of the world’s oldest and biggest trees.
