National Park Service Sequoia and Kings Canyon 47050 Generals Hwy. U.S. Department of the Interior National Parks Three Rivers, CA 93271 559 565-3341 phone 559 565-3730 fax Sequoia and Kings Canyon National Parks News Release For Immediate Release Reference Number: 8550-2029 Contact: Perri Spreiser, Fire Information Officer Phone Number: (662) 231-6457 E-mail:
[email protected] Wilderness Fires Continue to Burn in Sequoia and Kings Canyon National Parks SEQUOIA AND KINGS CANYON NATIONAL PARKS, Calif. September 19, 2020 – Sequoia and Kings Canyon National Parks continue to have two active fires burning in designated wilderness with no threats to people or property. The Rattlesnake and Moraine Fires were both caused by lighting and continue to show slow and minor fire growth. The Rattlesnake Fire is 2,078 acres and the Moraine Fire is 575 acres. Sequoia and Kings Canyon National Parks are in a highly fire-adapted ecosystem. This means that fire has shaped this landscape for thousands of years and the plants and animals have evolved to live with fire. The main example within the parks are the sequoia trees themselves. Not only does the giant sequoia have thick bark to provide protection from high heat sources, the cones have also developed to open only during periods of high temperatures to release seeds, generating new trees. This type of cone is referred to as serotinous. Sequoia trees would not exist today if there was not fire to support them. In addition to Sequoia and Kings Canyon National Parks full park closures, park managers have implemented a designated wilderness closure in response to the Rattlesnake Fire.