Less than 15 miles from the Silver Fire, the Ancient Bristlecone Pine Forest's trees are thousands of years old, including ...

The Silver fire in Inyo and Mono counties continued to burn Monday morning, scorching 1,250 acres and spurring evacuations.

as is the case with the Methuselah Tree, a bristlecone pine more than 46 centuries old. But it's truly baffling to learn under what conditions it has accomplished this extraordinary feat.

"There is something a little fantastic," wrote Edmund Schulman in the March 1958 National Geographic, "in the persistent ability of a 4,000-year-old tree to ... bristlecone pine is but 60 feet ...

Less than 15 miles from the fire, the Ancient Bristlecone Pine Forest contains trees that are more than 4,000 years old. The Patriarch Tree is the world's largest bristlecone pine tree.

Fran Jara In third place is the Pino de Juan Molinera. A 400-year-old stone pine in Abengibre, Spain, this tree has sheltered generations of locals and witnessed countless celebrations ...

Less than 15 miles from the fire, the Ancient Bristlecone Pine Forest contains trees that are more than 4,000 years old. The Patriarch Tree is the world's largest bristlecone pine tree.