Grove of giant sequoia trees threatened by wildfire

A wildfire burns in the Mariposa Grove of giant sequoias in Yosemite National Park, California (Noah Berger/AP)

The largest grove of giant sequoias in Yosemite National Park has been closed and hundreds of people were ordered to evacuate nearby as a wildfire burning through dense forest became the latest in recent years to threaten the world’s largest trees.

A team is being sent to Mariposa Grove to wrap some of the massive trunks in fire-resistant foil to protect them as the blaze burns out of control.