Sequoia Creek interagency prescribed burn completed

Sequoia and Kings Canyon National Parks and Sequoia National Forest personnel have successfully completed the Sequoia Creek Prescribed Burn, the U.S. Forest Service reported. The completed acreage is 264-acres. The planned acreage was 264-acres, with 55-acres in Sequoia National Forest and 209-acres in Kings Canyon National Park. A portion of the South Boundary and Hitchcock Meadow Trails and Big Stump Picnic Area will remain closed until conditions are determined safe for access by the fire management staff. All other trails in Grant Grove are open.

Smoke will continue to be visible inside the prescribed burn unit and may be smelled or seen in Grant Grove, Wilsonia, and along portions of Highway 180 during the day and in the Sequoia Lake area and the Highway 245 corridor at night.

“Prescribed burns reduce fuel loads in the forest, increase watershed health, and reduce the likelihood of high-intensity wildfires,” said Tony Caprio, lead resource adviser for the Sequoia Creek Prescribed Burn. “Low-intensity fires are needed for Giant Sequoia seed dispersal, as the cones open in fire, and the seeds fall into mineral-rich ash required for germination.”

Working together, Sequoia National Forest and Kings Canyon National Park can effectively restore a multifaceted ecosystem in this fire-prone region. Funding for this project was made possible through a partnership agreement under the Department of the Interior Wildland Fire Resilient Landscapes Program to address the holistic approach of fire and fuels management in the Grant Grove Peninsula and Area.