Ignitions have been started for a prescribed burn at Kings Canyon and Sequoia national parks.
The Sequoia and Kings Canyon National Parks’ Fire Management Program confirmed the news in a media release. Ignitions – which began Monday – are planned for this event, called the 2025 Big Stump East Prescribed Burn, until Tuesday.
“This prescribed burn will treat approximately 126 acres from the entrance station for Kings Canyon National Park past the Big Stump picnic area to the intersection with Highway 180 and the Generals Highway,” officials said in the media release, which was issued Monday morning.
Access to the eastern portion of Big Stump Trail will be temporarily closed during ignitions; however, visitors will still be able to get to the General Grant Tree Trail.
Those interested in going to the parks soon are advised that there will be moderate smoke impacts in the Grant Grove area in addition to possible traffic delays. At night, smoke may be “discernable” in the parks’ lower elevations, the Hume Lake Ranger District (located within Sequoia National Forest) and the corridors for highways 245 and 180, officials said.
According to authorities, fire managers will be monitoring fire behavior and constantly taking weather readings to ensure the operations are being safely conducted and meeting objectives. Crews are prepared to stop the burns should conditions become unsuitable.
Sequoia and Kings Canyon national parks lie adjacent to each other in the Sierra Nevada; both parks are run by the National Park Service under one unit. Last year, over 2 million visitors came to the parks to view some of the world’s largest trees in addition to the naturally stunning foothills, canyons and caverns that are scattered across the parks.
Mount Whitney, the tallest peak in the continental United States, is located within Sequoia National Park. The Sequoia and Sierra national forests also border the two adjacent national parks.
