野火袭击了加利福尼亚的红杉和秃鹰，但仍有希望

At 3 a.m. on Friday morning, biologist Kelly Sorenson was awake, nervously watching the live webcam feed of a California condor nest on the Big Sur coast. He could see a 5-month-old chick, still unable to fly, as the flames of the Dolan Fire came into view.

周五凌晨3点，生物学家凯利·索伦森还醒着，紧张地看着大苏尔海岸一个加利福尼亚秃鹰巢穴的网络直播。当多兰大火的火焰进入视线时，他看到了一只5个月大的雏鸟，它还不能飞。

"It was just terrifying," Sorenson said. "Having the live-streaming webcams was both a blessing and a nightmare because we had to watch the fire as it burned through the canyon."

“这太可怕了，”索伦森说。“网络摄像头的直播既是一件好事，也是一场噩梦，因为我们不得不看着大火在峡谷中燃烧。”

California's massive wildfires have burned more than 1,000 homes and buildings over the last week, destroying irreplaceable possessions and memories for some residents. At the same time, the fires are also threatening some of the state's rare ecosystems and wildlife.

上周，加州的大火烧毁了1000多座房屋和建筑，摧毁了一些居民不可替代的财产和记忆。与此同时，大火还威胁着该州一些稀有的生态系统和野生动物。

Biologists are watching closely as the blazes encroach on old-growth redwood trees in Northern and Central California, where some giants are more than 1,000 years old and are known by individual names. While some seem to have been spared, Big Basin State Park — the oldest state park in California — saw significant fire damage.

生物学家们正密切关注着大火对加州北部和中部古老红杉树的侵蚀，那里的一些巨型红杉树已经有1000多年的历史了，而且人们都知道它们的名字。虽然有些似乎幸免于难，但加州最古老的州立公园大盆地州立公园却遭受了严重的火灾破坏。

Still, biologists say there are reasons to be hopeful, because redwoods have incredibly thick bark that can withstand wildfires. Even fully charred trees can sprout again.

尽管如此，生物学家说仍然有理由抱有希望，因为红杉的树皮非常厚，可以抵御野火。即使完全烧焦的树木也能再次发芽。

The larger question is whether ecosystems can fully bounce back after extreme fires given that the climate change, already driving the current wildfires, can also make recovery difficult through heat stress and drought.

更大的问题是，考虑到气候变化(已经导致目前的野火)也可能通过热压力和干旱使恢复变得困难，生态系统是否能够在极端火灾后完全恢复。

For the endangered California condors, recovery is still tenuous. In 1987, just 27 birds remained. Scientists brought them into captivity to begin a breeding program. Today, there are about 100 condors free-flying on California's Central Coast. The Ventana Wildlife Society, where Sorenson is executive director, has been carefully tracking and releasing them.

对于濒临灭绝的加州秃鹰来说，恢复仍然很脆弱。1987年，只剩下27只。科学家们将它们圈养起来，开始了一项繁殖计划。如今，大约有100只秃鹰在加州中部海岸自由飞翔。索伦森担任执行董事的温塔纳野生动物协会一直在小心地追踪并放生它们。

The massive birds, with a 9-foot wingspan, are still threatened by lead poisoning since they feed on the carcasses of animals that have lead bullet fragments from hunters.

这种翼展长达9英尺的巨型鸟类仍然面临着铅中毒的威胁，因为它们以动物的尸体为食，这些动物身上有猎人留下的铅弹碎片。

Of the eight condor nests with chicks this year, Sorenson says five are within the fire zone.

索伦森说，今年有8个雏鹰巢穴，其中5个在火灾区域内。

"Even just four or five birds would be a huge loss," says Sorenson. "It's just really nerve-wracking now, not knowing."

索伦森说:“即使是四五只鸟的损失也是巨大的。”“不知道，现在真的很伤脑筋。”

Still, Sorenson is hopeful some chicks made it. In 2008, condor chicks survived a wildfire in Big Sur, protected by the tall redwood trees they nested in.

尽管如此，索伦森还是希望一些雏鸟能活下来。2008年，秃鹰雏鸟在大苏尔的野火中幸存下来，它们被它们筑巢的高大红杉树所保护。