SEQUOIA AND KINGS CANYON NATIONAL PARKS – Following consultations with park leadership and the San Joaquin Valley Air Pollution Control District, a start date has been established for the upcoming Park Ridge Prescribed Burn in the Grant Grove area of Kings Canyon National Park. Ignitions are scheduled to begin on the morning of Sunday, June 23, and continue for up to six days, depending upon conditions.  

The 560-acre Park Ridge Prescribed Burn units are located along the main ridge east of General Grant Grove and the Kings Canyon Visitor Center and consists of four segments on the western slope of the ridge. Atmospheric conditions may play a role in determining acreage to be burned each day, or the number of days of ignitions. Access to the General Grant Tree will not be limited by the burn.  

Much of the surrounding areas around Grant Grove have faced significant wildfire impacts from the 2015 Rough Fire and the 2021 KNP Complex Fire. One of the main reasons the Grant Grove area itself has not been severely impacted is from the parks rich history of prescribed burns going back to 1968. This is a mission that the Sequoia and Kings Canyon Fire and Aviation program continues to uphold for both the safety of people and resources. 

Visitors to the area on ignition days should expect moderate smoke impacts to the Grant Grove sub-district, as well as intermittent traffic delays. At night, smoke may be discernible in the parks’ lower elevations and the Hume Lake Ranger District of Sequoia National Forest. Visitors can learn more about air quality and smoke by visiting www.airnow.gov or www.valleyair.org.

A few trails that enter the burn area, including the Park Ridge Trail, will be closed during ignitions and the burn-down period, and will be clearly marked. Trails through Giant Sequoia Groves such as the General Grant Tree Loop will not be affected.  

[SOURCE: Sequoia and Kings Canyon National Parks]