Crews work to keep Yosemite fire from sequoias

PHOTOGRAPHER: The Associated Press

A plane drops fire retardant as firefighters battle a blaze in El Portal, Calif., near Yosemite National Park on Tuesday, July 29, 2014. Firefighters in the state are also battling another wildfire in the Sierra Nevada foothills east of Sacramento.

YOSEMITE NATIONAL PARK, Calif. — Fire crews are working to keep a blaze in Yosemite National Park away from a grove of treasured giant sequoia trees.

Park spokesman Scott Gediman said Wednesday there was no imminent threat to Merced Grove.

The fire was about 10 miles away, and crews were reinforcing old containment lines to prevent it from getting to the trees.

Merced Grove is among three stands of giant sequoias in the park. The towering trees grow only on the western slopes of the Sierra Nevada and are among the largest and oldest living things on earth.

Gediman said about 50 homes remained under evacuation orders. The fire, which began on Saturday, has burned through more than 5 square miles. It was 34 percent contained.