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Sequoia Forest land near fire remains closed Trail of 100 Giants open for time being
Sequoia National Forest land near the Castle Fire that burned in the Sequoia Complex will remain closed through December 31.
Despite cooler temperatures, hot spots continue to smolder and burn through dry vegetation. “This creates hazardous conditions for anyone walking through the burned area such as smoldering stump holes and fire weakened trees,” forest officials stated.
Highway 190, the Western Divide Highway and Mountain Road 50 over Parker Pass remain open. The Trail of 100 Giants is open for day use until winter weather makes it necessary for Tulare County to close the Western Divide Highway and Mountain Road 50 over Parker Pass to Johnsondale.
The Sequoia Complex burned 174,178 acres. As of Tuesday, containment of the fire was still listed at 90 percent.
A detailed description and map of the area that’s closed can be found at https://inciweb.nwcg.gov/incident/ar-ticle/7048/58858/ Heavy equipment work is expected to be halted soon as the result of winter-time conditions. Officials stated there’s still a great deal of work left to be done on fire suppression repair and heavy equipment is expected to return in the spring to continue the effort.
Suppression repair work has been completed in the Grouse Valley and Blue Ridge areas. Suppression repair work has now moved to the Ponderosa area and will continue until more severe winter weather arrives.
Firefighters are patrolling and monitoring the fire perimeter, extinguishing hot spots that could spread beyond containment lines. Two helicopters remain available for needs on the Sequoia Complex, with all fire resources available to contain ny new fires that erupt nearby.
Last week, fire activity increased in the Rattlesnake Fire burning in the Sequoia and Kings Canyon National Parks and Inyo National Forest. That fire has burned 8,177 acres and has been listed as 85 percent contained.