A collection of the world's oldest and most beautiful trees – almost 3,000 of them – are back open to the public seven days a week just six months after a powerful wildfire ravaged the area.
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Sequoia National Park's Giant Forest had been open to visitors only on a limited basis and when conditions permitted since December following the KNP Complex Fire.
As of Friday, park officials announced the grove is once again accepting hikers and awe-struck sightseers throughout the week.
"Our staff has been working hard to restore 7-day access to the Giant Forest and we thank everyone for their patience and flexibility with the limited access that we’ve been able to provide in the last couple months," Clay Jordan, Superintendent of Sequoia and Kings Canyon National Parks, said in a Facebook post. "This marks an important milestone on our road to fully restoring park operations."
The KNP Complex Fire, which sparked in September 2021, scarred almost 90,000 acres across both Sequoia and Kings Canyon National Parks – but the damage didn't stop there. Estimates pegged the number of giant sequoias lost to the KNP Complex and Windy fires at 5% of the world's total.
The U.S. National Park Service said at least 1,330 sequoias have died or will die off within the next five years, while at least 931 have died or will die because of the Windy Fire.
Some of the oldest trees in the park were wrapped in tin foil to protect them against the intense flames of the KNP Complex Fire.
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