Beginning as early as February 10 through the middle of March, fire personnel at Sequoia and Kings Canyon National Park will be burning piles of cut wood and other vegetation in the Big Stump area of Grant Grove and the Lodgepole area of Giant Forest.
The 87-acre Big Stump pile burn project area is located north of the Big Stump Entrance Station and along the west and east sides of Highway 180 to the Big Stump parking area.
The 20-acre Lodgepole pile burn project area encompasses the Lodgepole picnic area and a portion of the Lodgepole employee housing area.
The purpose of these operations is to dispose of cut materials from restorative thinning projects conducted in the summer of 2021. Together, these project phases will provide a zone of reduced fuels to better protect giant sequoias, park developments, and cultural resources in the project areas. The zone of reduced fuels will make it safer for firefighters to engage any future unplanned wildfires affecting these areas, while also preparing the area for future restorative prescribed burning.
Throughout the duration of the project, smoke or burning piles may be visible near the entrance to Grant Grove and along Highway 180, and in the Lodgepole area along the Generals Highway. Specific timing for the work will be dependent upon air quality windows and staffing levels.
The restorative thinning and piling phase of the Big Stump project was funded by the Sierra Nevada Conservancy and managed by the Great Basin Institute as part of the Grant Grove Big Stump Ecological Restoration Project, Phase One.
Sequoia and Kings Canyon National Parks work with the San Joaquin Air Pollution Control District to coordinate and regulate smoke contributions to the airshed. For more information about air quality in Sequoia and Kings Canyon National Parks, visit go.nps.gov/sekiair. For regional information about air quality, visit www.valleyair.org.