4 people hurt by tree in wildfire released from hospital

Four people injured when a tree fell on m as y were working inside a rrn California wildfire have been released from hospital, officials said Friday.

One is an employee with California Department of Forestry and Fire Protection, kwn as Cal Fire, and three are with California Conservation Corps, authorities said . y were hurt Thursday afteron while y were inside sourn end of KNP Complex Fire. y were n airlifted to hospitals.

blaze was caused by lightning on Sept. 10 and has burned more than 134 square miles (347 square kilometers) of forest in Sequoia and Kings Canyon national parks. fire remains only 11% contained as more than 2,000 firefighters battle it.

Officials fear hundreds of giant sequoias may have been killed by flames as y swept through groves of majestic monarchs in Sierra Neva. trees have evolved to survive low- to medium-intensity fire behavior but two groves — including one with 5,000 trees — were seared by high-intensity fire that can send up 100-foot (30-meter) flames capable of burning capies of towering trees.

Firefighters have taken extraordinary measures to protect sequoias by wrapping fire-resistant material around bases of some giants, raking and clearing vegetation around m, installing sprinklers and dousing some with water or fire retardant gel.

true extent of dam to sequoias may t be kwn until 2022, when crews will be able to get into area on foot. For w, aerial reconnaissance is only possible when smoke conditions allow.

California fires have burned more than 3,000 square miles (7,800 square kilometers) so far in 2021, destroying more than 3,000 homes, commercial properties and or structures.

Hotter and drier wear coupled with deces of fire suppression have contributed to an increase in number of acres burned by wildfires, fire scientists say. And problem is exacerbated by a more than 20-year Western megrought that studies link to human-caused climate change.