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- Controlled burns clearing flammable underbrush saved thousands of giant sequoias from devastating wildfires.
- The 2020 Castle Fire and 2021 KNP Complex Fire killed up to 13,000 sequoias, but the death toll would have been higher without prescribed burns.
- Trees with prescribed burns in the previous decade were four times more likely to survive, saving an estimated 1,900 sequoias.
- Challenges include longer wildfire seasons and risks of burns escaping control, as seen in New Mexico.