Firefighters in Oregon are racing to save the Doerner Fir – one of the world’s tallest and oldest trees – from a fire that has been burning since Saturday.
The giant fir, more than 325ft (99m) tall and estimated to be over 450 years old, has already lost about 50ft to the blaze, which may jeopardise its standing in global height rankings, officials say.
With more hot and dry weather forecast along Oregon’s Coast Range, firefighters are struggling to put the fire out.
Officials have discussed some unconventional ways to put out the blaze including building scaffolding to reach and suppress flames higher up the tree.
The cause of the blaze remains unknown, though lightning has been ruled out.
On Tuesday, an infrared drone found no active flames or smoke at the top of the tree, but it detected heat inside a cavity in the trunk some 280 ft high, federal Bureau of Land Management spokesperson Megan Harper told the BBC.
Ms Harper told ABC News that the fire may impact the tree’s standing in global height rankings.
“We’ve lost about 50 ft of it, just from fire and pieces falling out,” she said, noting that the 50 ft were lost through the top burning. “So I don’t know where it’ll stand after this, but it’s still a magnificent tree.”
She also said there was not a risk of the tree fully burning down.
“The tree is so big, it’s got so much mass that it would take a while for it to burn all the way through the tree,” she said.
The Coos Forest Protective Association has said helicopter bucket drops have reduced fire activity near the top, while sprinklers and containment lines have been set up around the base. A helicopter remains on standby.
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