KNP Complex fire killed thousands of giant sequoia trees in California
12/22/2021 12:00:00 AM
CATEGORIES:
Fire
Plants & Wildlife
Tourism & Recreation
AFFECTED AREAS:
Fresno County, CA
Tulare County, CA
Start Date: 9/9/2021
- End Date: 12/17/2021
The KNP Complex Fire burned for months, killing thousands of giant sequoia, consuming 88,307 acres and extensively damaging parts of the Sequoia and Kings Canyon national parks. The blaze was finally fully contained on Dec. 17 after winter storms brought heavy snow that finally extinguished the smoldering fire.
The KNP Complex began in early September when two fires, sparked by lightning strikes, merged on Sept. 9. The flames burned through millions of dead and desiccated trees, killed by drought and an infestation of bark beetles in the southern Sierra.
The General Sherman tree and others were encircled with fire-resistant wrap to protect them from the flames that killed between 3% and 5% of the mature sequoia trees in the world died, despite the firefighters’ hard work to protect the trees.
Visalia Times-Delta (Calif.), Dec 20, 2021
Sources