Central California’s out-of-control KNP wildfire closing in on giant historic trees
.JPG "A fire engine drives past sequoia trees in Lost Grove as the KNP Complex Fire burns about 15 miles away on Friday, Sept. 17, 2021, in Sequoia National Park.")
The KNP Complex fire has now been burning for just over one week in Sequoia National Park.
Driven by dry fuels and critical fire weather, the two separate wildfires that made up the complex — known as the Paradise and Colony fires — merged sooner than anticipated and have reached at least one grove of historic giant sequoia trees.
The fire has burned 21,777 acres and remained uncontained as of Sunday afternoon. There are 614 personnel assigned to the fire, including 21 crews, 21 engines, 11 water tenders, and eight helicopters.
The wildfire grew to the east and north over the weekend, reaching a small area of the Giant Forest on Friday. Trees in the area known as the Four Guardsmen had been prepped ahead of the flames’ advance and provided with aluminum wraps on their bases, according to the National Forest Service. The more famous General Sherman Tree has also been prepared, though it has yet to see direct fire.
Hotshot crews continued to assess the area on Saturday.
So far, the fire has seen slow growth to the south, toward Three Rivers, where an evacuation warning remains in place. An indirect dozer line is being constructed on the western park boundary to provide structure protection for the town and surrounding community.
Smoke cleared Sunday afternoon, allowing air operations to resume direct attack on the fire in steep terrain inaccessible to ground crews.
A red flag warning remains in place throughout Sunday. Particulate matter readings in Kings Canyon National Park were in the “hazardous” range throughout Sunday.
No new evacuation warnings or orders were issued Sunday, but crews are preparing for potentially significant increases in fire activity. Southern Area Incident Management reminded those currently under evacuation warnings to be ready to mobilize and leave should the alert escalate to a mandatory evacuation order.
A Red Cross evacuation center is at the Woodlake Community Center, 145 Magnolia St, in Woodlake.
This story was originally published September 19, 2021 at 9:36 AM with the headline "Central California’s out-of-control KNP wildfire closing in on giant historic trees."