Five Beetle Killed Giants

Five Beetle Kill Giants — Taken through the sun roof of the Suburban, there are five beetle killed giants in this photo, either giant sugar pines or young sequoias. Sequoias have billowy plush tops with their needles on, where most of the rest of the conifers have pointy tops, including the younger sequoias less than 400 or 500 years old. On the right is a fresh beetle kill sugar pine, the one with the red needles. Also, immediately to the bottom left of the big sequoia in the center of the frame is a smaller tree with straw colored needles. This was likely burn kill from low intensity fire. Sequoia forest in our old climate almost always had low intensity fires, before our climate changed and fires began burning 400 degrees hotter.