Smokejumpers work to save Giant Sequoias as Garnet Fire burns through McKinley Grove

FRESNO, Calif. (KFSN) -- For the first time in 150 years, flames have burned through the historic McKinley Grove of Giant Sequoias, prompting an extraordinary firefighting effort to save some of the world's oldest and largest trees.

Smokejumpers with the U.S. Forest Service scaled the towering sequoias this week after the Garnet Fire swept into the grove. Crews also set backfires less than a mile away in an effort to slow the blaze and protect the remaining trees.

"We're trying to save the tree," said Steven Roberts, a smokejumper with the Forest Service. "We jump out of airplanes and put out fires. This is a little bit different. They've called us up to try to help put out fires in these Sequoias."

Video released by the Forest Service showed flames moving dangerously close to the grove earlier this week. Sprinkler systems were deployed before specialized crews were called in to extinguish smoldering embers in the crowns of the massive trees.

"There have been a few Sequoias that got embers in their crown down here and that's why we have the smokejumpers," said Olivia Roe with the High Sierra Ranger District. "They're climbing and they're putting out that fire that's smoldering in the crown."

The McKinley Grove spans about 50,000 acres within the Sierra National Forest, which covers more than 1 million acres. While small in size, the grove holds immense ecological and cultural significance.

"In recent years, we have had high-intensity fires that have impacted other groves and we've lost a number of these irreplaceable treasures," said Jon Regelbrugge of the Sierra National Forest.

For many, the effort to save the trees is about more than preserving forestland.

"It's spiritual, cultural. It's our heritage," said Dirk Charley, fire tribal liaison.

Roe added, "You take something that's 3,000 years old, and it's been here for so long, we have a duty to help preserve it and keep it here."

The cause of the Garnet Fire remains under investigation.

For news and weather updates, follow Christina Lopez on X and Instagram.