Planned Projects

Mixed-conifer forests in the Sierra Nevada have a history of frequent fire. Park fire managers conduct prescribed burns to reduce logs and debris on the forest floor, thin the trees, and favor establishment of young sequoias and pines. This is a 2014 prescribed burn in Giant Forest.

NPS Photo - Tony Caprio

The fire and fuels management program at Sequoia and Kings Canyon National Parks helps protect ecosystems and communities. This important work is accomplished by restoring fire's natural role in the environment and by reducing the density of vegetation, or fuel loads.

Each year, managers prepare an Annual Fuels Treatment Plan that lists all the approved prescribed burns and mechanical fuel reduction projects that will help the parks accomplish goals.

If you are visiting the parks, be aware that fire and smoke can be present at any time. Since the execution of burns depends on air quality, local fire activity, fuel moistures, and weather, the times listed here are estimates only.

Fuels Projects Table

The table below identifies the planned projects for Calendar Year 2023 and their status. There are 10 projects planned for a total of 2,762 acres. Prescribed broadcast burns are planned for 2,201 acres, and manual thinning and/or pile burning is planned for 561 acres.

Location	Unit Name	Type	Acres	Estimated Date
Ash Mountain	Ash Mountain	Thin and Pile	4	Complete
Ash Mountain	Ash Mountain	Burn	35	Complete
Grant Grove	Park Ridge	Burn	560	Fall 2023
Grant Grove	Grant Grove *subject to ongoing compliance approval	Burn	521	October 2023
Mineral King/Atwell	Deer Creek	Burn	941	Delayed until 2024 due to road access
Grant Grove	Big Stump	Pile Burn	80	Ongoing
Grant Grove	Sequoia Creek	Thin and Pile	20	August 2023 - ongoing
Mineral King/Atwell	Atwell	Thin and Pile	68	Delayed until 2024 due to road access
Grant Grove	Grant Grove	Thin and Pile	168	August 2023 - ongoing
Redwood Meadow	Redwood Meadow Grove	Thin, Pile, Pile Burn	115	August 2023 for thin and pile, October-November for pile burning
Grant Grove	Big Stump East	Burn	144	Prep in 2023, burn in 2024