Authorities in Oregon are grappling with a persistent fire burning within one of the world’s tallest and oldest trees, posing a unique challenge for firefighters near the state’s southern coast.
The Doerner Fir, a coastal Douglas Fir estimated to be over 450 years old and towering over 99 metres (325 feet), has been alight since Saturday in Coos County, located within Oregon’s Coast Range.
Megan Harper, a spokesperson for the federal Bureau of Land Management, stated that an infrared drone flight on Tuesday revealed no active flames or smoke at the tree’s summit, but detected heat within a cavity some 280 feet high.
The difficulty lies in accessing this high-altitude cavity to douse it with water, Harper explained.
Discussions have included unconventional methods such as constructing scaffolding or ascending neighbouring trees for better access, or even allowing the fire to smoulder under close observation.
Crews remained onsite on Tuesday, with a helicopter on standby for potential water drops. This follows successful helicopter bucket drops on Monday by the Coos Forest Protective Association, which had already reduced fire activity near the tree’s crown.
It added that sprinklers were placed at the base of the tree, where containment lines were also constructed to prevent further fire spread.
The fire may impact the tree’s standing in global height rankings, Harper said.
“We’ve lost about 50 feet of it, just from fire and pieces falling out,” she said, noting that the 50 feet (15 meters) were lost through the top burning. “So I don’t know where it’ll stand after this, but it’s still a magnificent tree.”
The cause of the fire has not been determined and is under investigation. It is the only tree on fire in the immediate vicinity, and investigators are looking at lightning data to see if there were any recent strikes in the area, Harper said.
For now, the tree is not at risk of fully burning down, according to Harper.
“Right now, that is not a danger,” she said. “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.”
Meanwhile, those involved in the firefighting efforts want to do everything possible to save the historic tree, Harper said.
“I think people really love it,” she said of the tree. “There’s a lot of history there, and so we don’t want to lose it.”
