California's giant sequoias were once viewed as nearly fire-proof. It's true that the ancient trees are remarkably resistant to fire. The trees' thick bark acts as a protective agent from flames, and their canopies can often be too high for fire to reach. Sequoias even benefit from wildfires, as the warmth produced by fire aids to open the trees' cones and distribute seeds, while the burn clears undergrowth so the seeds can take root.

But wildfire seasons are worsening due to climate change. According to The Associated Press, there is no record of giant sequoias burning before 2015. In 2020, one fire killed tens of thousands of sequoias in the Sierra Nevada, the New York Times reported.

This year, firefighters covered some of the more vulnerable trees' gigantic trunks in fire-resistant blankets as the Colony Fire and the Paradise Fire threatened Sequoia National Park and its famous, thousands-year-old trees. Other measures were employed as well to help protect the trees. Sprinklers were set up, park workers raked flammable matter from the bases of trees and gel canopies were hung to repel flames.

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This reactive sort of prevention isn't enough to save the iconic forest. Christy Brigham, chief of resource management and science at Sequoia and Kings Canyon National Parks, told the AP that more needs to be done, like thinning vegetation and using prescribed burns to reduce the brush that acts as wildfire fuel.

A Michigan non-profit, Archangel Ancient Tree Archive, is working to preserve the genetics of the world's largest old-growth trees. Their research asks whether the genes that enabled some of the oldest trees to survive so long will protect new growth from the worst of climate change.

“That genetic makeup served that tree very well for the past 3,000 years,” Joanna Nelson, science director for the organization told the AP. “However, we know that the next 3,000 years are going to be more difficult –- in terms of warming and drying land and air and bigger wildfires that are more frequent. We have conditions coming that these trees haven’t experienced.”

Archangel Ancient Tree Archive also collects the cones and clippings of ancient trees and clones and breeds them for replanting. The hope is their research will find the best genetic diversity to produce seedlings that will survive the turbulent centuries to come.

Click through the slideshow above to see images of the work Archangel Ancient Tree Archive is doing in Sequoia Crest, California, to try to ensure that future generations have giant sequoias at which to marvel.

MORE FROM WEATHER.COM: Wildfires Threaten Sequoia National Forest

The Weather Company’s primary journalistic mission is to report on breaking weather news, the environment and the importance of science to our lives. This story does not necessarily represent the position of our parent company, IBM.