Rogue River-Siskiyou National Forest, Ore. – One of the northern-most redwood groves in the United States was damaged in the Chetco Bar Fire, according to the U.S. Forest Service.
Officials stated on Saturday about 25% of a redwood grove in Oregon’s Wheeler Creek Research Area was “severely burned” during the fire.
According to the USFS, 45% of the trees in the 600-acre preserve are old-growth redwoods.
Fortunately, the understory burned only lightly in the rest of the research area, as older redwoods have an exceptionally thick, fire resistant bark, the USFS said.
Firefighters were instructed to fight the fire with indirect attacks to avoid damaging the redwoods. This meant the use of fire retardant was avoided whenever possible.
As of Monday morning, firefighters are continuing to complete equipment recovery and repair areas damaged by fire suppression efforts.
Firefighters will continue to monitor the burned areas for smoldering remnants of the fire, which is estimated to cover 191,067 acres with 97% containment.
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