January Windstorm Trashed Yosemite's Sequoias

A giant sequoia toppled in a January 18 storm 
in Yosemite National Park 

A mid-January wind storm that swept California, causing widespread damage, really hit Yosemite National Park hard.  

Sadly, at least 15 giant sequoias were uprooted and crashed to the ground as winds reached 80 mph. 

Initially two of Yosemite's sequoias were reported to have been destroyed, but that number, after further assessments, is up to 15.

Yosemite National Park is still closed, at least through Monday, as there is widespread damage to buildings and trees. 

As the San Jose Mercury News reports, the trees were in the famous Mariposa Grove, a big patch of Sequoias that have drawn millions of visitors to the park over the years.

Reports the Mercury News: "'We have extensive damage in the park,' said Scott Gediman, a Yosemite Park spokesman. "Millions and millions of dollars. There could be more giant sequoias down. We are continuing the damage assessment."

The trees in the Mariposa grove are up to 285 feet tall, with bark more than a foot thick.  Some of the trees are 2,000 years old. They were there when Julius Caesar ruled the Roman Empire. 

The grove has about 500 mature sequoias, so about three percent of the grove died in the storm.  No other single storm in at least the past 156 years have knocked over so many sequoias.

The park had largely been evacuated before the storm, so few people were around when they fell, But you can imagine the noise they made when they did fall. 

The January 18 storm produced winds of up to 100 mph in parts of the national park. The storm damaged a lodge, restrooms, a boardwalk, about 20 employee homes and about 20 cars. The Mercury News said it will be months before the Mariposa Grove will reopen to the public. 

Last summer, a wildfire near Santa Cruz burned hundreds of enormous redwood trees. Thankfully, most of those seem to be producing new green shoots and are expected to survive.