Single Publication

Acres:  85,952 acres                          

Containment: 11 %

Start Date: September 10, 2021                                          

Cause: Lightning

Jurisdiction: Sequoia and Kings Canyon National Parks; Sequoia National Forest

Resources: 2,069 personnel including: 40 crews, 133 engines, 36 water tenders, 21 dozers and 14 helicopters

The four individuals struck by a tree on the southern end of the KNP Complex Thursday afternoon, have all been released from the hospital. One is an employee with CALFIRE and three are Corpsmembers with the California Conservation Corps.

North Zone: California Interagency Incident Management Team 2 (CIIMT2) assumed command of the North Zone of the KNP Complex yesterday at 6 pm. The zone will be comprised of the portions of the fire from Eshom Valley on the west side, around the north end of the fire to the Giant Forest on the east side. Team 2 will continue to build on the good work done in the last two weeks by Southwest Incident Management Team 2. Today’s primary focus will be the area where the fire crossed the Generals Highway south of Grant Grove. Last night a tactical firing operation from Park Ridge to Redwood Canyon locked in that portion of the line. Today crews will follow up by patrolling that area and extinguishing hot spots. An indirect line is being constructed around Stony Creek Lodge to the Generals Highway. This line will continue around the lodge and down to Lost Grove. Increased humidity and shading of fuels by clouds will decrease fire behavior and provide more opportunities to build direct line. Firefighters will be scouting the fire and looking for areas where they can build control line directly on the fire’s edge.

South Zone: Southwest Area Incident Management Team 2 remains in command of the South Zone of the KNP Complex. The zone will be comprised of the portions of the fire from Eshom Valley on the west side, around the south end of the fire to the Giant Forest Grove on the east side. Today, firefighters are patrolling the west perimeter and working to extinguish hotspots, preventing further spread. Heavy equipment and crews are implementing structure protection and preparation around Case Mountain Grove, Silver City, and Mineral King. Fire spread to the south of Mineral King Road is being reduced with line construction and hose lays in place.

Weather: A chance of scattered rain across the fire area will increase as we move into the afternoon. Thunderstorms developing in the surrounding area are expected to bring cooler temperatures and gusty winds. Moisture is expected across the fire area with snow in the high elevations.

Safety: Firefighters will continue fire suppression efforts across both the North and South Zones as long as they can do so safely with these changing weather conditions. Firefighter safety is our #1 priority and work objectives may change.

Evacuations: Evacuation ORDERS and WARNINGS are in place. For the most up-to-date information, visit: https://nifc.maps.arcgis.com/apps/webappviewer/index.html?id=4b2ac27b5c8943ed92c0e77aa94daca0. Learn to prepare for an evacuation by visiting https://www.readyforwildfire.org/.

Closures: Sequoia and Kings Canyon National Parks are closed west of the Pacific Crest Trail and south of the ridgeline which lies north of Ionian Basin. In addition, the BLM Case Mountain Extensive Recreation Management Area and major portions of the Sequoia National Forest are also closed. View closures at https://inciweb.nwcg.gov/incident/closures/7838/

Smoke Impacts:  A decrease in smoke activity is expected with changes in weather. Current air quality updates can be found at https://www.wildlandfiresmoke.net/outlooks/FresnoCA.

Fire Information:

PUBLIC: (559) 492-9988 (8 a.m. – 8 p.m.); MEDIA: (559) 492-9967

EMAIL: 2021.KNP@firenet.gov

INCIWEB: https://inciweb.nwcg.gov/incident/7838/

FACEBOOK:  https://www.facebook.com/sequoiakingsnps/ and https://www.facebook.com/sequoiaNF/

TWITTER:  https://twitter.com/SequoiaKingsnps and https://twitter.com/sequoiaforest

INSTAGRAM:  https://www.instagram.com/Sequoiakingsnps

YOUTUBE:  https://bit.ly/KNPComplexYT