In addition, the prolonged drought in California had killed thousands of trees in the parks, making them receptive to fire. Poor visibility due to extremely smoky conditions sometimes prevented aircraft from flying. When the fires were discovered on September 10, it was immediately evident that putting them out would be difficult, due to the extemely steep terrain, lack of trail or road access, and risk to firefighters posed by high density of standing dead trees. The teams managing the fire used new technologies like fire retardant gel on some cabins and giant sequoias. This allowed firefighters to work right along the edge of the fire to attempt to prevent any further growth.īulldozers and masticators were brought in to cut wide fuel breaks, tactical burning operations were performed, and giant sequoias and structures were wrapped in fire-resistant structure protection wrap. There were some opportunities for direct attack as the fire moved into more accessible terrain and favorable weather moderated fire activity. This meant that they worked at a distance from the fire's edge and in terrain where it was possible to operate with an acceptable margin of safety and a higher probability of success. As the fires grew, ground crews utilized indirect firefighting tactics. Initial attack on the fires relied heavily on aircraft, dropping retardant and water on the fire. While giant sequoias are a fire-adapted species, special efforts were made to protect iconic groves from burning at high intensity. Their only natural range is within California’s Sierra Nevada, and there are numerous sequoia groves in the parks. Sequoias are the largest trees in the world, and among the oldest (some sequoias are more than 3,000 years old). Nearly all of these communities were subject to evacuation warnings or orders at some period in time, some for many weeks.Īnother high priority during the fire was the protection of park resources, including giant sequoias, historic cabins, and archeological sites. Communities that were at risk at some point during the fire include Wilsonia, Three Rivers, Mineral King, Silver City and Cabin Cove, Advance, Eshom, Hartland, Hume Lake, and employee residences within Sequoia and Kings Canyon National Parks and Sequoia National Forest. The protection of people and communities was the highest priority in the fire suppression operation. Cal Fire, Tulare County Fire, and Tulare County Sheriff's Office worked in close partnership with the parks on these fires since their discovery. Additional air and ground resources were ordered immediately. Full Suppression StrategyĪs soon as the fires were discovered, Sequoia and Kings Canyon National Parks immediately took full suppression action, meaning that the goal was to totally extinguish them. Firefighters used fire-resistant structure protection wrap to cover the base of the tree, and raked dead tree branches and other burnable plant material out of the surrounding area. Two wildland firefighters work to protect the General Sherman Tree. News Releases - While news releases are no longer being generated for the KNP Complex, you can find daily updates on the fire during its most active period here.This site is no longer being updated regularly. InciWeb KNP Complex web page - briefings, maps, images, evacuation notices.It also burned on Sequoia National Forest, as well as lands under county and state jurisdiction. The majority of the acreage of the KNP Complex is within Sequoia and Kings Canyon National Parks. Changing weather conditions will play a role in future fire activity inside the containment lines. Even though the fire is contained, it can still burn in heavy fuels and continue to smolder there through multiple precipitation events, or even all winter, and become active again when the fuels dry. However, serious hazards exist in burned areas, such as falling trees, debris flows, and rockfall. The fire was declared 100 percent contained on December 16, 2021, after significant precipitation events occurred across the Sierra Nevada. The two fires merged into one large fire on September 17, 2021, referred to as the KNP Complex. The 1.25-acre Cabin Fire was quickly contained, but the Colony and Paradise fires presented serious challenges to firefighting and spread rapidly. On Thursday September 9, 2021, the Cabin, Colony, and Paradise Fires were ignited by lightning and discovered the following day. The final perimeter of the KNP Complex, published on Overview
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