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7 October 2026

Some trees survive fire.

Some actually need it.

The giant sequoias of California have evolved alongside wildfire for thousands of years. Their thick, fire-resistant bark can protect mature trees from flames that would kill many other species.

But there is something even more surprising.

Fire can help create the conditions their seeds need.

When flames move through a forest, they clear away competing vegetation and open parts of the sequoia’s cones, allowing seeds to reach the ground.

So something that looks like destruction can also become part of renewal.

Of course, not every fire is beneficial. Modern, unusually intense wildfires can be devastating to forests.

But the older natural relationship between fire and sequoia is a remarkable reminder that nature does not always work in the simple categories we use.

We see fire and think: loss.

The tree’s story is more complicated.

Sometimes survival means resisting the fire.

Sometimes renewal begins after it has passed.

Perhaps that is why forests have so much to teach us.

They rarely tell a simple story.

Rajat Chandra Sarmah, Guwahati, Assam, India, Instagram @rajatchandrasarmah, YouTube: conversewithasmile, email rajatchandrasarmah@gmail.com