For those following the news, there was a devastating forest fire near and in Yosemite National Park. Apparently the 3rd largest forest fire in the more recent California history books. Within that forest are some of the world’s, and California’s, tallest Sugar Pine and Douglas fir trees.

Michael Taylor (but in Oregon) talking to Frank Callahan, during a 2011 visit to see the tallest pine in the world where another world’s tallest Sugar Pines grows

On September 5, 2013, Michael Taylor (big tree expert) wrote at the Eastern Native Tree Society website …

“I have some possible good news to report.  The fire at Hodgdon meadow did not completely crown out. The wet dogwood understory apparently slowed the fire down. However the entire area is still burning and could crown out due to extremely dry and windy conditions.  The fire officials are now aware of the tall sugar pine there.

I have forward the GPS of the all tallest sugar pines in that forest to fire officials who are now sending fire crews to each of these trees to try save them.  Will update soon on the situation.  There may still be hope for saving these sugar pines !!

Then on September 6, 2013, Michael Taylor relayed the following message from Scientist and Research Climber, Dr. Robert Van Pelt …

Just In From the Front LInes, As relayed to me by Robert Van Pelt.

“They visited nearly all of the 250+ douglas fir, sugar pine, and ponderosa pine. They raked bark away from the trunks (if it wasn’t already too late).  A couple of the trees are in areas still too hot to visit. The Carlon area was spared.  The Hodgdon area burned – parts of it crowned out. The tallest sugar pine lives. At least two 250+ ponderosa and one 250+ sugar pine are dead. All the tallest douglas fir lived. More details to follow. Kinda good news – although the beetle populations following this fire are going to be off the charts…

Cheers,
– BVP”

That is the latest news I received on the superlative specimens near Yosemite National Park

Recent September 6th news shares that the 20-day Rim Fire is expected to burn another two weeks. It blackened  246,350 acres, or 385 square miles in northern California forests since Aug. 17th. The fire has grown by almost 10,000 acres since Thursday the 5th, although it stayed mostly within containment lines that firefighters made around 80 percent of the blaze perimeter.

Visitors will have full access to Yosemite Valley from the park’s western entrance from Groveland for the first time since the Rim fire broke out Aug. 17th … a  14-mile stretch of highway is closed within the park — from Crane Flat to White Wolf

Update excerpt from CBS News article, September 8, 2011

“Federal officials have amassed a team of 50 scientists, more than twice what is usually deployed to assess wildfire damage. With so many people assigned to the job, they hope to have a preliminary report ready in two weeks so remediation can start before the first storms, Alex Janicki, the Stanislaus National Forest BAER response coordinator, said.

Team members are working to identify areas at the highest risk for erosion into streams, the Tuolumne River and the Hetch Hetchy Reservoir, San Francisco’s famously pure water supply.