Some of the oldest living organisms on Earth—giant sequoia trees, estimated to be 3,000 years old—are now burning in California’s Sierra National Forest.

The Garnet Fire, sparked by lightning, has scorched more than 85 square miles and reached the McKinley Grove, where ancient sequoias are now being wrapped in fire blankets, surrounded by sprinklers, and fought for—tree by tree—by a small crew of specialized wildland firefighters.

California can’t do this alone.

We, the undersigned, call on the governors and emergency management agencies of Oregon, Nevada, Arizona, New Mexico, Colorado, Utah, and Washington to:

• Send additional wildfire crews and air support to California under mutual aid agreements
• Offer logistical and emergency resource coordination through the Western States Pact and other interstate compacts
• Recognize this as not just a California emergency, but a national environmental crisis.

The giant sequoias only grow in one place on Earth—a 260-mile stretch of forest in the western Sierra Nevada. Losing even one ancient tree to extreme fire intensity is a loss for everyone: for science, for climate stability, and for future generations.

Wildfires don’t stop at state borders. And protecting living trees older than the Roman Empire should be something all Americans care about.