This is an aerial video of the west section of Alder Creek Grove after the SQF Complex / Castle Fire burned it to a crisp. Scores of giant sequoias perished here. This area is a moonscape, and continues to burn three months later. The giant sequoia at the beginning of the video is one of the large trees featured in Wendell Flint’s book To Find the Biggest Tree. The camera moves up to see that his harlequin trees and the entire Pink Forest are also gone, along with countless other giants that are hard to pick out from the ash and gray.
A green “island” of sequoias still exists at the center of Alder Creek Grove (along with the famous Stagg Tree which wasn’t impacted), but the grove as a whole has been significantly reduced in size and quantity. Freeman Creek Grove, McIntyre Grove (Belknap), and Mountain Home all experienced severe burns just like this. This was severe fire driven by severe wind pushing in from the east. This is the result of humanity’s rapid creation of a hotter and drier world. These giants no longer have a hospitable place to live.
About the Author:
Sue Cag is a musician, artist, writer, photographer, and nature preservationist.
All photos and video by Sue Cag. All Rights Reserved. Photos and video may not be used without permission.
