Sequoia fire relief efforts get celebrity support. Why this ‘Saved by the Bell’ star donated
.jpg "Tiffani Thiessen and family at their family cabin near the Sequoia National Park.")
When the KNP Complex Fire started burning Sept. 10 inside Sequoia National Park there was immediate concern, both of the residents in the communities surrounding the fire, but also for the groves of giant sequoia trees found inside the park.
And for good reason.
Somewhere between 7,500 to 10,600 mature giant sequoias were likely killed last year by the Castle and SQF Complex fires. Experts estimate that as 10% to 14% of the world’s population of such trees.
The KNP has been threatening — in some cases burning through — trees and places in popular tourist spots. The entire Giant Forest, for example.
To that end, the Sequoia Parks Conservancy has put together the KNP Complex Fire Recovery Fund and is rallying the public to help in efforts “to rebuild trails, protect sequoia groves and meadows, safeguard cultural and historic features, reestablish access to Crystal Cave and restore wildlife habitat.”
Already, the fund has gotten celebrity endorsement from the likes of actors Martin Henderson (“Grey’s Anatomy,” Nextflix’s “Virgin River”) and Tiffani Thiessen (“Saved by the Bell,” White Collar”), sportscaster Andrew Siciliano (”NFL Sunday Ticket”) and Grammy-winning musician (and Visalia native) Avi Kapla.
Henderson and Kaplan are ambassadors with the Sequoia Parks Conservancy and Sicilano is on the board of directors. All three have urged people to donate through their social media and in video on YouTube.
Thiessen made a plea of her own in a feature in People Magazine. The actor’s family has a cabin in nearby Sequoia National Forest built by her grandfather. In Instagram captions she often refers it it as her happy place. The cabin was under an evacuation warning due to the KNP fire.
“My heart is heavy again thinking our little cabin could be in danger,” she wrote in an Instagram post.
“Many, many thanks to the courageous firefighters who are working tirelessly to help keep everyone safe.”
Donations to the KNP Complex Fire Recovery Fund for Sequoia National Park can be made online at www.sequoiaparks.org/firefund.
This story was originally published October 2, 2021 at 5:00 AM.