KNP update: Kings Canyon evacuates due to spot fire near park entrance. Grant Grove under watch
A new spot fire has prompted a mandatory evacuation order for some well-known spots within Sequoia and Kings Canyon National Parks: the communities of Grant Grove, Wilsonia and Cedar Grove.
The parks have been closed to tourists for several days.
The evacuations apply to residents, employees and anyone else who might be doing business in those areas. They are asked to leave by noon Friday, exiting via westbound Highway 180.
A spot fire popped up as part of the KNP Complex Fire on Thursday afternoon, first prompting evacuation orders for communities of Eshom and Hartland Camp.
Flames had crossed the north fork of the Kaweah River, about two or three miles southeast of Eshom Point, and burned about 500 to 600 acres.
Fire officials say the wildfire is now burning about six miles or from the Big Stump area, which is near the Highway 180 entrance to the parks. Grant Grove, one of the park’s most popular spots where tourists flock to see some of the biggest giant sequoias in the world, is just north of Big Stump.
Crews have been tackling the spot fire since Thursday, using air tankers and helicopters.
“They detected it right away and were able to get air resources on it as well as (bull)dozers and crews working through the night,” said Susie Heisey, a public information officer working on the KNP Complex Fire.
“It is really high elevation, steep terrain,” she said.
They are hoping to get to the fire on the ground, possibly near Cherry Flat, and create a line around it, she said.
Are the giant sequoias safe?
Fire has moved through other giant sequoia groves in the KNP Complex fire without doing major damage.
Crews are prepared if the fire reaches the Grant Grove or Big Stump area, Heisey said.
“It really depends on what previous fuels treatments have been done in those areas and how intensely the fire moves through those area,” she said.
In the past year or so, crews have used equipment to remove material that could burn intensely in the Big Stump area, she said.
Crews have also been preparing the Grant Grove area in case the fire reaches it, including protecting buildings and trees, she said.
“They have had some success with different practices on this fire to allow for the movement across these groves and hopefully there won’t be any long-term impact.”
Evacuated employees, residents
Residents from the evacuated communities in Kings Canyon National Park are asked to meet at 3 p.m. Friday at the Bear Mountain Library at 30733 East Kings Canyon Road in Squaw Valley. Information about lodging options will be available there.
Employees are asked to call their supervisors about work assignments. Those with urgent concerns can call the park’s dispatch center at 559-565-3195.
This story was originally published October 1, 2021 at 10:54 AM.
