Wildfires in California continue to devastate everything on their paths, including Big Basin Redwoods State Park. The oldest state park in California suffered extensive damage from the CZU August Lightning Complex Fires in Santa Cruz County and is now closed until further notice. The fire damaged the park headquarters, historic core, and campgrounds. Nearly all the redwood trees were scorched, reports The Mercury News.
Photo: Alexey Olenchenko/Shutterstock
California’s Oldest State Park Has Been Devastated by Wildfire
The Big Basin Redwoods State Park Headquarters & Visitor Center was left in ruins following a blaze that swept through the park#CZULightningComplexFire #wildfire pic.twitter.com/08ZR04G1hq
— Randy Vazquez (@RandyVMedia) August 21, 2020
Luckily, redwood trees tend to be extremely resilient due to their thick bark. According to Sam Hodder of Save the Redwoods League, “Obviously if they were big enough and hot enough to take those structures, there’s no way to tell. We’re just crossing our fingers until we have a chance to get in there and take a look. It’s that balance between heartbreak and the resilience that redwoods have taught us, trying to gear ourselves up for the process of building back.”
One of the trees near the Big Basin Redwoods State Park headquarters burns from within. #BigBasin #CZULightningComplexFire #wildfires pic.twitter.com/p8zhW9ROhb
— Randy Vazquez (@RandyVMedia) August 21, 2020
Also, fortunately, everyone at the Little Basin and Big Basin were evacuated before the flames could claim any lives. The flames from the CZU Lightning Complex Fires continue to burn outside Big Basin as fire departments struggle to get the blaze under control. 