Firefighters have been given fire-resistant blankets to wrap ancient trees as fire continues to tear through world-famous Sequoia National Park in California.
Fire-fighters fear that the blaze could reach the reach the Giant Forest, destroying some of the world’s biggest trees.
The forest is home to around 2000 sequoias, including the 275ft (83m) General Sherman, the biggest tree by volume on Earth and about 2500 years old.
Over 350 firefighters, helicopters and water-dropping planes have been pressed into service to fight the inferno.
The fire-fighters have wrapped many trees in the forest, including the General Sherman, with fire-resistant blankets made of aluminium foil in a bid to protect them.
“It’s a very significant area for many, many people, so a lot of special effort is going into protecting this grove,” Sequoia and Kings Canyon National Parks spokesperson Rebecca Paterson told the LA Times.
Sparked by lightning, the Paradise and Colony fires have been growing across rugged shrubland in the Sierra Nevada.
More than 7400 wildfires have burned in the state this year, scorching more than 2.2 million acres.