NPS - National Park Service

10/30/2026 | Press release | Distributed by Public on 10/30/2026 11:56

Pile Burning Begins at Sequoia and Kings Canyon National Parks to Reduce Fuels and Promote Forest Health

News Release Date: October 30, 2026


The National Park Service and the U.S. Wildland Fire Service will conduct prescribed pile burning in multiple locations throughout Sequoia and Kings Canyon National Parks from Nov. 1 through March 15, 2027, conditions permitting.

Pile burning is planned in the Big Stump, Grant Grove and Cedar Grove areas of Kings Canyon National Park and the Mineral King area of Sequoia National Park. Visitors may see smoke, burning piles, firefighters and firefighting equipment along park roads during this period. The timing of operations will depend on weather, fuel conditions, air quality and staffing.

Smoke may affect visibility and air quality. The U.S. Wildland Fire Service will coordinate with the San Joaquin Valley Air Pollution Control District to manage smoke impacts. Current air quality information is available at fire.airnow.gov, with additional regional information at valleyair.org.

The pile burning will dispose of vegetation removed during forest restoration and defensible space projects conducted over the past several years. These efforts reduce hazardous fuels, improve forest health and help protect giant sequoias, park facilities and popular visitor areas from wildfire. Reducing fuels also creates safer conditions for firefighters responding to future wildfires and prepares treated areas for potential prescribed burns. Prescribed fire is a tool that is carefully planned and implemented by fire managers to safely apply low-intensity fire under specific weather and fuel conditions.

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NPS - National Park Service published this content on October 30, 2026, and is solely responsible for the information contained herein. Distributed via Public Technologies (PUBT), unedited and unaltered, on October 30, 2026 at 17:56 UTC. If you believe the information included in the content is inaccurate or outdated and requires editing or removal, please contact us at [email protected]