Yosemite National Park, Calif. (AP) -- A famed grove of giant sequoias in Yosemite National Park survived its first wildfire in more than a century, thanks to efforts to regularly burn the undergrowth beneath the towering trees, a forest ecologist who toured the site said Tuesday.
Small, intentionally lit fires over the past 50 years essentially stopped the fire in its tracks when it hit the Mariposa Grove and allowed firefighters to stand their ground and prevent flames from doing more than charring the thick bark on the world's largest trees, Garrett Dickman said.
