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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.
An old-growth redwood tree named ‘Mother of the Forest’ is still standing in Big Basin Redwoods State Park, California, on Monday
Another ancient redwood given the name ‘Father of the Forest’ is seen above on Monday in Big Basin Redwoods State Park in California after surviving the CZU Lightning Complex wildfire
A helicopter and crew releases water to extinguish a section of the LNU Lightning Complex Fire near Middletown, California
‘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.
A redwood forest smolders Monday, Aug. 24, 2020, in Big Basin Redwoods State Park, Calif. The CZU Lightning Complex wildfire tore through the park but most of the redwoods, some as old as 2,000 years, were still standing. (AP Photo/Marcio Jose Sanchez)
The fire-ravaged park headquarters building is seen after the CZU August Lightning Complex Fire passed through Monday, Aug. 24, 2020, in Big Basin Redwoods State Park, Calif. (AP Photo/Marcio Jose…
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