Agencies Cooperatively Manage the West Kern Fire
SPRINGVILLE, CA, September 18, 2003. Fire managers from the National Park Service (NPS) and the U.S. Forest Service (USFS) are working together to manage the lightning-caused West Kern Fire. Discovered on August 23, the 1,400-acre West Kern Fire is burning in a remote wilderness area in the southeastern section of Sequoia National Park. Inaccessible by road, the fire is northwest of the Kern Canyon Ranger Station on the west side of the Kern River. Fire monitors are on scene to map fire spread and observe fire behavior.
Known as fire use projects, some lightning-caused fires are allowed to spread naturally to improve forest health. "The West Kern Fire will reduce ground fuels and maintain a natural fire cycle near the Kern Canyon," says Superintendent Richard H. Martin. "The parks are pleased to work with the Forest Service on this positive project." While the fire is still inside Sequoia National Park, there is potential for it to spread south into the Sequoia National Forest.
The West Kern Fire started at approximately 8,000 feet in elevation and has now spread down to the Kern Canyon floor at 6,400 feet. This elevational range includes red fir, Jeffrey pine, cedar, and high-elevation chaparral. Last year during the large suppression effort for the McNally Fire on the Sequoia National Forest, the NPS and the USFS created a structure protection plan for cultural resources and private property in the Kern Canyon. This plan will be implemented during the West Kern Fire.
To protect visitor safety, the parks have closed the trail that runs west/east from Coyote Pass on the park boundary to the Kern Canyon Ranger Station. This trail closure connects to a current closure on the west side of Coyote Pass in Sequoia National Forest related to the Cooney Fire. Fire managers expect fire behavior to increase during the next week with warmer and drier weather. As a result, the West Kern trail closures could extend until the end of the season. Backcountry users need to plan accordingly.
This is the third fire use project managed cooperatively this season by Sequoia & Kings Canyon National Parks and Sequoia National Forest. Agency fire managers are already working together on the 1,143-acre Williams Fire and the 1,928-acre Cooney Fire. The Williams Fire is located in the Sugarloaf Basin of Kings Canyon National Park and the Cooney Fire is in the Little Kern and Rifle Creek area of Sequoia National Forest. Trail closures remain in effect for both fires. To date, neither of these fires has burned across agency boundaries.
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