WAWONA, Calif. — A portion of Yosemite National Park has been closed as a wildfire rages near a grove of California’s famous giant sequoia trees.
The Washburn fire forced park officials on Thursday to close Mariposa Grove, which is the largest sequoia grove in Yosemite and features more than 500 mature giant sequoias.
It was not immediately clear whether any of the trees were burned in the wildfire.
The rest of the park remains open. Firefighters were working from the ground and the air to contain the blaze.
A Yosemite spokesperson told the Los Angeles Times that the wildfire had grown to 60 to 70 acres around 7 p.m. Thursday.
