California wildfire threatening forest home of world’s oldest tree | California wildfires

Firefighters have managed to make “strong progress” containing a fire burning through eastern California near the world’s oldest trees, but the blaze remains an active threat, officials said.

Since igniting on Sunday afternoon, the Silver fire has scorched nearly 1,600 acres (647 hectares) in the eastern Sierra Nevada and forced residents of about 800 homes to evacuate. Strong winds fanned the flames, which burned through dry grass and brush in Inyo county, threatening neighborhoods, endangered species and the Ancient Bristlecone Pine Forest.

On Monday evening, Cal Fire’s San Bernardino/Inyo/Mono unit, the agency managing the response to the blaze, announced that firefighters had stopped forward spread of the fire. By Tuesday morning, authorities reported that crews working overnight had made “strong progress” on the fire, with containment at 50%, and announced that evacuation orders had been downgraded to warnings.

Still, the fire continues to threaten structures, critical infrastructure and endangered species, Cal Fire said in a statement. It also remains an active threat to the Ancient Bristlecone Pine Forest, said Chloe Castillo, a Cal Fire public information officer. The forest features some of the oldest known trees, including Methuselah, a bristlecone pine that is almost 5,000 years old and the world’s oldest living organism.

Officials are keeping the evacuation warnings out of an abundance of caution because of high winds forecast in the fire zone, Castillo said.

The fire sparked along Route 6 north-east of the Owens Valley town of Bishop, near the Nevada border. Inyo county has seen little rain recently and parts of the region are experiencing severe or extreme drought, according to the US Drought Monitor. Weather can be erratic in the area and the local vegetation, saltgrass, will burn even in snow, Castillo said.

More than 200 personnel responded to the blaze, facing thick smoke that reduced visibility as strong winds grounded aerial resources, preventing tanker drops, the Cal Fire spokesperson said. Meanwhile, temperatures have dropped below freezing in the evenings.

Firefighters have dealt with “extreme cold. Extreme, extreme wind. Almost Santa Ana type winds where it is completely dead, and it just immediately takes a turn for the worse,” Castillo said.

“It’s been a very tough firefight in the middle of very cold weather.”

The area is expected to see snow on Tuesday evening, Castillo said, but the threat remains. The cause of the fire is under investigation.