Wildfire chars 20 acres in park

A wildfire in Sequoia National Park has charred 20 acres and prompted road closures and campground evacuations, officials said.

The blaze — the first of the year — started about 1:30 p.m. Saturday east of the park’s Ash Mountain entrance and was still burning at 5 p.m., said Mike Theune, fire information officer for Sequoia and Kings Canyon National Parks.

An oak woodland and mixed vegetation — suffering, like the rest of the state, from serious dehydration — served as easy kindling, Theune said.

“We’ve had an exceptional drought year,” he said. “Plants are really dry.”

Several fire engines had arrived by Saturday evening, as had two firefighting aircraft. Theune said the cause of the fire was still unknown.

Generals Highway was closed from the Foothills Visitor Center to the Giant Forest Museum, and two campgrounds — Potwisha and Buckeye Flat — have been evacuated, as has the Hospital Rock picnic area.