Wildfire updates: KNP Complex passes 45,000 acres; more extreme fire behavior possible
The KNP Complex fire burning in Sequoia National Park was listed at 45,790 acres and 8% containment in a Sunday update, with no new evacuation warnings or orders issued within the past 24 hours.
California Army National Guard troops continue to work in the northern areas of the fire to protect park infrastructure, a structure protection crew is working around the Hartland area south of Highway 180, and preparations are being made to drop fire retardant on sequoia trees in the Muir Grove as weather permits.
A brief cooling trend in the next few days will help firefighters, but clearing skies and less smoke could also lead to an increase in active to extreme fire behavior in the area.
“We’ve had a high-pressure system that has kind of gone through here that has really trapped that smoke above the fire,” said Katy Hooper, with the Southern Area Incident Management Blue Team.
“That’s going to continue (Sunday). Slight winds are going to pick up ahead of this cool front coming in on Tuesday, and that is going to do a couple of things. It will move out some of that smoke, and the cool temperatures will help. When the smoke does lift and the sun is present and there are higher temperatures that does lead to the possibility of increased fire behavior, and we have seen that in a couple of areas across the fire so far.”
The KNP Complex includes multiple blazes started by lightning on the night of Sept. 9, reported on Sept. 10 and designated as a complex fire on Sept. 11. It has continued to spread in Sequoia and Kings Canyon National Parks and in recent days to the northeast into Sequoia National Forest.
The Sunday update included an additional 3,742 acres burned over the past 24 hours, with the majority of that in the Paradise Ridge area where a burning operation took place.
There are 49 crews working the wildfire along with 72 engines, 39 water tenders, 32 dozers and 22 helicopters with 1,780 personnel.
Windy Fire update
The Windy Fire burning on the Tule River Indian Reservation and Sequoia National Forest has reached 82,278 acres, an increase of 7,747 acres since Saturday. It is listed at 2% contained, with an estimated full containment date of Oct. 14.
Fire behavior through Saturday was active and winds in the afternoon pushed the fire north toward Ponderosa, east toward Johnsondale and south beyond California Hot Springs and Sugarloaf. The fire continues to exhibit high resistance to control and is active in all vegetation types.
The cooler temperatures and higher relative humidity on Tuesday will also bring high winds to the area with gusts as high as 35 mph possible across the ridges and upper slopes.
This story was originally published September 26, 2021 at 2:41 PM.