The smartest people in the world are finding out they aren't as smart as they thought.

Crews are battling the fires in California that are threatening the giant Sequoia trees. These trees have been there for thousands of years and have survived the worst of the worst until we got government specialists involved. They are now setting up sprinklers around the trees and crews are clearing the over thick underbrush away from the base of the trees.

The Associated Press reported that the ancient trees use to be fairly unaffected by fire but now that the underbrush was allowed to grow and fire suppression has prevented all of the fuel from naturally being eliminated, they're in trouble.

Firefighters Continue To Work On Washburn Fire That's Threatening A Sequoia Grove In Yosemite National Park
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Including the iconic Grizzly Giant that is over 3,000 years old. That tree survived as well as the others because we didn't have forest ecologists and forest managers and tactical operational managers for the first 2,900 years of the tree's life.

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Now look what we have... a mess. We always think that we know much better than nature and it exacerbates the problem.

Oak Fire Sparks Evacuations in Mariposa County
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Look at the Lodgepole Fire near Jordan five years ago. New grazing restrictions and fire suppression for a hundred years caused the perfect storm. It burned 500 square miles before rain helped put it out. The West has burned uncontrollably for millions of years and survived beautifully until we decided we know better.

Don't forget for a moment either that tourism dollars come into play here as well. No one wants to visit a burned forest even though it will be healthier 200 years later.

See ya tomorrow at 5 a.m.

Here Are Fire Safety Steps For Your Family

Thanks to our friends at the City of Mills Fire Department and Alertall.com these steps should be discussed and practiced with your entire family and anyone else that lives with you.

PHOTOS: 2021 Robertson Draw Fire Near Red Lodge, Montana

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