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Fire burns into another giant sequoia grove, this time in Yosemite National Park

Bill GabbertJuly 8, 2022July 9, 2022WildfireCalifornia, giant sequoia, Washburn Fire, Yosemite National Park9 Comments

Washburn Fire has burned hundreds of acres in the Mariposa Giant Sequoia Grove

Updated at 5:26 p.m. PDT July 9, 2022

Washburn Fire at 5:24 p.m. July 9, 2022. Sierra Fire Watch image.

Smoke over the Washburn Fire is preventing air tankers from dropping retardant.

The FIRIS mapping aircraft reported at about 4 p.m. that the fire had grown to 1,384 acres

Updated 8:03 a.m. PDT July 9, 2022

Map 3-D Washburn Fire Yosemite National Park 10 p.m. July 8, 2022 — 3-D map of the Washburn Fire in Yosemite National Park, looking east at 10 p.m. July 8, 2022.

The Washburn Fire in Yosemite National Park in California was very active throughout Friday night and into Saturday morning. The photo below taken at dawn on Saturday shows a convection column of smoke, something you don’t often see over a wildfire at dawn.

Washburn Fire, July 9, 2022 — Washburn Fire, looking NNE from the Deadwood camera at 6:03 a.m. July 9, 2022.

The National Park Service, which often “manages” wildfires in Yosemite rather than aggressively putting them out, said they are fully suppressing this fire. California Interagency Incident Management Team 13 has assumed command, and additional firefighting resources will continue to arrive over the coming days.

A mapping flight at 10 p.m. Friday found that it had grown to 703 acres, a number that has no doubt been exceeded in the subsequent hours.

Map Washburn Fire Yosemite National Park 10 p.m. July 8, 2022 — Map of the Washburn Fire in Yosemite National Park, 10 p.m. July 8, 2022.

The overnight weather at the Fish Camp weather station south of the fire 1,000 feet lower in elevation, recorded a maximum relative humidity of 53 percent and light winds out of the west and northwest. The spot weather forecast issued Friday afternoon predicted for Saturday 82 degrees, 27 percent relative humidity, and 6-12 mph afternoon ridgetop winds gusting to 18 mph out of the southwest and west. This should influence the fire to continue spreading to the northeast and east.

Approximately 155 acres of the fire has burned into the west side of the 1,300-acre Mariposa giant sequoia grove. The Park Service has been conducting prescribed fires within the grove for years, including about seven since 1999. This should slow the spread in the grove and reduce the fire intensity compared to other locations that do not have similar recent fire history. It remains to be seen how much sequoia mortality will occur under the present low fuel moistures and “exceptional drought” conditions.

It appears likely that the blaze will reach the South Fork of the Merced River, the southern perimeter of the 2017 South Fork Fire, which should also slow the progression of the fire.

Washburn Fire, July 8, 2022. By @countryheli

7:04 p.m. PDT July 8, 2022

Washburn Fire map, 2:42 p.m. July 8, 2022 — Washburn Fire map. The dots represent heat detected by a satellite as late as 2:42 p.m. July 8, 2022. The red dots are the most current.

Another wildfire is burning in a grove of giant sequoia trees — behemoths that can live for 3,000 years. The Washburn fire was reported at 2 p.m. Thursday July 7 and by 4 p.m. Friday it had been mapped by a FIRIS aircraft at 466 acres. At least 150 acres of the fire are within the Mariposa giant sequoia grove in the south end of Yosemite National Park two miles southeast of Wawona, a community that is under an evacuation order. An evacuation map has been posted and the south entrance to the park is closed.

Preliminary surveys found that in a two year period, 2020 and 2021, almost 20 percent of all giant sequoias in their natural range over four feet in diameter were killed by fire (and neglect) or will die in the next few years. In 2020, 10 to 14 percent of the entire Sierra Nevada population of giant sequoia trees over 4 feet in diameter were killed in the Castle Fire. Early estimates after two fires the following year, the KNP Complex and the Windy Fire, 2,261 to 3,637 sequoias over four feet in diameter were killed or will die within the next three to five years.

Aircraft report that as the activity on the Washburn Fire increased Friday afternoon multiple spot fires occurred near the South Fork of the Merced River and east of Highway 41, some of them 0.7 miles out ahead of the main fire. That river was the south edge of the South Fork Fire that burned 7,563 acres in 2017. Normally a fire would slow down considerably when it encountered a fire scar less than 8 or 9 years old, but the Electra Fire near Jackson, CA burned quite well earlier this week in a seven year old scar. It will be interesting to see what the Washburn Fire will do if it bumps the South Fork Fire footprint.

The National Park Service has conducted four prescribed fires east of the Washburn Fire, in 2003, 2004, 2006, and 2016 for a total of 295 acres. This would have reduced some of the fuel in those areas, which may slow the spread in those treated locations, reduce the wildfire intensity, and the mortality of the giant sequoias. The more recent treatments are the most effective for modifying the behavior of a wildfire.

Washburn Fire, fuel treatments. There have been other fuel treatments in the Mariposa Grove not shown on this map.

Washburn Fire shortly after it was discovered, July 7, 2022. NPS photo.

Information about the Mariposa grove of giant sequoia, from Yosemite Mariposa County:

The most famous tree in the grove is the Grizzly Giant, one of the largest trees in the Mariposa Grove and, at an estimated age of 2,700 years, one of the oldest living sequoia.

Beyond the Grizzly Giant sit hundreds of lesser-visited sequoias in the upper grove including the Clothespin Tree, the Faithful Couple and the fallen Wawona Tunnel Tree.

Legislation update: bills introduced to retain Giant Sequoias and wildland firefighters

Bill GabbertJune 23, 2022June 24, 2022Uncategorizedbonus, California, giant sequoia, legislation, recruiting, retention10 Comments

burned Sequoia grove in Sequoia and Kings Canyon NP — Sequoia grove in Sequoia and Kings Canyon NP, November, 2021. NPS photo by Daniel Jeffcoach.

At Wildfire Today we don’t get too excited about proposed legislation because most of it is introduced, sent to a committee, and is never seen again. But pending, there are two that will interest land managers and wildland firefighters and may have a better than 50/50 chance of passing.

Save Our Sequoias

Today House Minority Leader Kevin McCarthy (R-Bakersfield-23) and co-author House Committee on Natural Resources Ranking Member Bruce Westerman (R-Ark.) introduced the Save Our Sequoias (SOS) act.

These trees that can live for up to 3,000 years need protection. This should include actively managing and reducing the surrounding hazardous fuels. In addition, when firefighting resources are scarce, which seems to be the new normal, Multi-Agency Coordinating Groups need to consider the irreplaceable value of these iconic groves when allocating personnel and equipment for going fires. Some may say these behemoths are at least, if not more, valuable than man-made structures that also may need protection from nearby fires.

Do we need a new paradigm for protecting iconic groves of remaining giant sequoias?

At this rate, with this climate, we could lose the rest of these massive trees in just a few years.

Three Fires, giant sequoia trees — Three fires in two years that killed giant sequoia trees. The darker green areas represent groves of giant sequoias.

Please watch this video to see how urgent the issue is.

The film was produced by Kyle Dickman and the Mariposa County Resource Conservation District thanks to a grant from the California Wildlife Conservation Board’s Forest conservation Program.

Despite the looming threat to the remaining Giant Sequoias, federal land managers have not been able to increase the pace and scale of treatments necessary to restore Giant Sequoia resiliency to wildfires, insects, and drought. At its current pace, it would take the U.S. Forest Service approximately 52 years to treat just their 19 highest priority Giant Sequoia groves at high-risk of experiencing devastating wildfires. Without urgent action, we are at risk of losing our iconic trees in the next several years. Accelerating scientific forest management practices will not only improve the health and resiliency of these thousand-year-old trees but also enhance air and water quality and protect critical habitat for important species like the Pacific Fisher.

The SOS Act will provide land managers with the emergency tools and resources needed to save these remaining ancient wonders from the unprecedented peril threatening their long-term survival. The bill would:

Enhance coordination between federal, state, tribal and local land managers through shared stewardship agreements and the codification of the Giant Sequoia Lands Coalition, a partnership between the current Giant Sequoia managers.
Create a Giant Sequoia Health and Resiliency Assessment to prioritize wildfire risk reduction treatments in the highest-risk groves and track the progress of scientific forest management activities.
Declare an emergency to streamline and expedite environmental reviews and consultations while maintaining robust scientific analysis.
Provide new authority to the National Park Foundation and National Forest Foundation to accept private donations to facilitate Giant Sequoia restoration and resiliency.
Establish a comprehensive reforestation strategy to regenerate Giant Sequoias in areas destroyed by recent catastrophic wildfires.

Neither the text or a summary of the bill, H.R.8168, is available, but on the day it was introduced Congress.gov listed 26 cosponsors — 13 Republicans and 13 Democrats.

$1,000 Recruitment or Retention bonus for wildland firefighters

An amendment has been added to the National Defense Authorization Act (NDAA) of 2023, H.R.7900, which would pay a recruitment or retention bonus of not less than $1,000 to Federal wildland firefighters. The minimum amount would be increased each year according to the Consumer Price Index. It would be available once a year to any primary or secondary firefighter after successfully completing the Work Capacity Test.

‘‘Federal wildland firefighter’’ is defined as “any temporary, seasonal, or permanent position at the Department of Agriculture or the Department of the Interior that maintains group, emergency incident management, or fire qualifications, as established annually by the Standards for Wildland Fire Position Qualifications published by the National Wildfire Coordinating Group, and primarily engages in or supports wildland fire management activities, including forestry and rangeland technicians and positions concerning aviation, engineering heavy equipment operations, or fire and fuels management.”

It does not appropriate any additional funding to pay the bonuses, but the dollars could most likely come from the salaries from unfilled positions.

The NDAA is far from being passed, but this is a high priority piece of legislation which is sometimes used as a vehicle for slipping in unrelated bills. The 2014 NDAA, for example, included authorization and $130 million to transfer seven HC-130H aircraft from the Coast Guard to the US Forest Service to be used as air tankers. But that’s a long, sad, story with a couple of unexpected twists. (Unless there are still more delays, one or more may be actually flying over fires for the California Department of Forestry and Fire Protection, not the Forest Service, in 2023.)

A correction was made to the dates in which nearly 20 percent of all giant sequoias in their natural range over four feet in diameter were killed by fire (and neglect) or will die in the next few years.

Executive Order to inventory and protect old-growth forests

Bill GabbertApril 22, 2022April 22, 2022Uncategorizedfuel management, giant sequoia, prescribed fire31 Comments

In a two year period 13 to 19 percent of all giant sequoias in their natural range over four feet in diameter were killed by fire

Today, on Earth Day, President Biden will sign an Executive Order to conduct the first-ever inventory of mature and old-growth forests on federal lands. This will be completed and made publicly available in a year with the objective of establishing consistent definitions and accounting for regional and ecological variation. The agencies will then analyze threats facing these forests, including from wildfires and other climate impacts.

After completing the inventory, the Departments of Interior and Agriculture will develop new policies, after public comment, to institutionalize climate-smart management and conservation strategies that address the threats facing mature and old-growth forests on federal lands.

We are losing thousands of giant sequoia trees that can live for 3,000 years

Nowhere is the need for protecting old growth forests more obvious than in the giant sequoia groves in California. In a two year period 13 to 19 percent of all giant sequoias in their natural range over four feet in diameter were killed by fire (and neglect) or will die in the next few years. In 2020, 10 to 14 percent of the entire Sierra Nevada population of giant sequoia trees over 4 feet in diameter were killed in the Castle Fire. Early estimates after two fires the following year, the KNP Complex and the Windy Fire, 2,261 to 3,637 sequoias over four feet in diameter were killed or will die within the next three to five years. These losses make up an estimated additional 3-5% of the entire Sierra Nevada sequoia population over four feet in diameter.

Under normal conditions giant sequoia trees can live for more than 3,000 years, which is 38 times the life expectancy of a human in the United States. The multi-year drought and higher temperatures have led to extremely dry fuel moistures which is causing wildfires in California and other areas to burn with unusual intensity, making even some of the giant sequoias with bark up to a foot thick susceptible to wildfires burning under these conditions.

It is probably safe to assume that when large fires are burning most of the priorities of the Multi-Agency Coordinating Groups for allocating scarce resources are decided by individuals with a history of on the ground firefighting. They may have a bias toward allocating more fire personnel to protect buildings, rather than fires where 3,000-year old trees 300 feet tall and 20 feet in diameter are being destroyed.

Since only approximately 100,000 of these mammoth trees are left that are larger than four feet in diameter, government employees allocating firefighting resources need to strongly consider the value of these treasures to the nation and the world, and that some of them have been living for thousands of years. It is disheartening to see hundreds of them destroyed in a matter of hours, especially if due in part to sending resources, instead, to protect structures that have not been hardened to FireSafe standards or constructed under reasonable county and city building codes.

The giant sequoias have already been inventoried. We know where they are. What NEEDS to be done is to ramp up the management of the fuels beneath these big trees, and greatly increase the prescribed fire programs around them on lands managed by the National Park Service, Forest Service, and Bureau of Indian Affairs.

Firefighter on the Windy Fire burning giant sequoia tree — Firefighter on the Windy Fire applies water on a burning giant sequoia tree. Photo uploaded to InciWeb Oct. 11, 2021.

BLM to burn piles in Giant Sequoia groves

Bill GabbertJanuary 8, 2022January 7, 2022UncategorizedCalifornia, giant sequoia, prescribed fire13 Comments

An effort to help protect these iconic trees from being destroyed in wildfires

The Bureau of Land Management plans to burn up to 1,000 piles of downed hazard trees, branches, and understory brush at Case Mountain Extensive Recreation Management Area (ERMA) southeast of Three Rivers in Tulare County, California. Pile burn operations will start as early as Monday, January 10, and continue periodically until Spring, depending on weather, air quality conditions, onsite observations, and resource availability. Smoke may be visible in Three Rivers.

The ERMA contains the only giant sequoia groves managed by the BLM. They are on Case Mountain approximately 7 miles southeast of the town of Three Rivers, California. The complex is comprised of six distinct sequoia grove units, which total about 444 acres.

The prescribed fire is part of a multi-year fuels reduction effort in the groves. The objective is to strategically thin trees; remove ladder fuels which can feed flames to the treetops; and remove needles, branches, and brush on the forest floor. The prescribed fire will enhance protection of the wildland-urban interface for the town of Three Rivers, improve landscape health, and remove hazardous fuels near giant sequoia trees. Burning will take place only when weather and fuel moisture allow safe and successful operations.

The project is funded by a CAL FIRE grant and is a joint effort of the BLM, CAL FIRE, Tulare County Resource Conservation District, tribes, private landowners, and technical experts. It is closely coordinated with the San Joaquin Valley Air Pollution Control District.

The Case Mountain Forest Health Project is associated with California Climate Investments, a statewide program that puts billions of cap-and-trade dollars to work reducing greenhouse gas emissions, strengthening the economy, and improving public health and the environment – particularly in disadvantaged communities.

Protecting these iconic trees

In 2020, 10 to 14 percent of all giant sequoias across the tree’s natural range in the Sierra Nevada that were at least four feet diameter were killed in the Castle Fire when a substantial proportion of all sequoia groves touched by the fire burned with unprecedented severity.

In 2021 two additional large fires destroyed more of these iconic beasts of trees — the KNP Complex just north of the Castle Fire, and the Windy Fire which spread into the south side of the Castle Fire. These three fires were primarily in the Sequoia and Kings Canyon National Parks and the Sequoia National Forest.

More information about these trees that if protected can live for 3,000 years: Do we need a new paradigm for protecting iconic groves of remaining giant sequoias?

Photos and video from the Windy Fire in Sequoia National Forest

Bill GabbertDecember 12, 2021December 11, 2021Uncategorizedgiant sequoia, Windy Fire9 Comments

Numerous giant sequoias were killed in the fire

Windy Fire giant sequoias — Windy Fire. Image from the Mike McMillan video. 2021.

In 2021 the Windy Fire burned more than 97,000 acres in the Sequoia National Forest and the Tule River Reservation in California. It killed numerous giant sequoia trees which can live for up to 3,000 years. Mike McMillan of Spot Fire Images shot this video and still photos as the fire was burning. He served as a public information officer at the fire September 17-24, 2021.

In a two year period 13 to 19 percent of all large sequoias in their natural range were killed by fires

Bill GabbertNovember 22, 2021November 21, 2021UncategorizedCalifornia, giant sequoia, KNP Complex, Windy Fire7 Comments

If a sequoia is lucky, it can live for up to 3,000 years

In 2020, 10 to 14 percent of the entire Sierra Nevada population of giant sequoia trees over 4 feet in diameter were killed in the Castle Fire. Early estimates expect that on two fires in 2021, the KNP Complex and the Windy Fire, 2,261 to 3,637 sequoias over four feet in diameter have already been killed or will die within the next three to five years. These losses make up an estimated additional 3-5% of the entire Sierra Nevada sequoia population over four feet in diameter.

In a two year period 13 to 19 percent of all giant sequoias in their natural range over four feet in diameter were killed or will die in the next few years.

These trees can live for up to 3,000 years. However, climate change, inadequate fuel management in the sequoia groves over previous decades, possible regeneration failure following the fires, and a shortage of firefighters while the blazes were burning have led to a significant threat to the persistence of the species.

The burn severity in the 2021 fires was variable, from low severity which was beneficial, to high, which killed most of the trees and could make natural regeneration difficult or impossible. Areas that had been previously treated with prescribed fire or mechanical thinning reduced the mortality during the fires and allowed crews opportunities to safely fight fire more effectively.

Funds have been requested for the hundreds of acres, at least, that need to be replanted by hand.

Below is the “executive summary” of a report recently released about the effects of this year’s wildfires on the giant sequoia groves.

The 2021 fire season included two large wildfires (both started by the same lightning storm in early September) that burned into a large number of giant sequoia groves. This species has a limited distribution, covering just ~28,000 acres in ~70 groves on the western slopes of the Sierra Nevada mountains. Given the impacts of the 2020 Castle Fire to sequoia groves, where losses were estimated at 10-14% of the entire Sierra Nevada population of sequoia trees over 4 feet in diameter, there is significant concern by sequoia managers and the public regarding the impacts of these new fires. This report summarizes potential impacts to groves that were burned in the 2021 fire season, in the KNP Complex Fire and Windy Fire, including number of groves burned, amount of grove area burned at differing vegetation severity (RAVG-composite burn index), estimated number of large sequoias killed based on a preliminary analysis, the percentage of the entire population this loss represents, potential for regeneration failure, and potential for loss of seed source due to erosion (for KNP only). All of the data, data analysis, maps and modeling contained in this report are excerpted from the Burned Area Emergency Response Plan for the KNP Complex produced by an interagency team and submitted by the National Park Service. Some additional explanatory text and structure has been added to make this a standalone report. Because of this emphasis, there is more detail and analysis for KNP Complex sequoia groves than those burned in the Windy Fire.

Grove-level Estimates

In total 27 sequoia groves are fully or partially within the fire perimeters of the KNP Complex Fire and the Windy Fire.
- 16 groves burned in the KNP Complex Fire.
- 11 groves burned in the Windy Fire.
- For both fires combined, 6,109 acres of giant sequoia groves were burned. This estimate is based on updated grove boundaries provided by the NPS and the USFS Region 5 Remote Sensing Laboratory.
  - KNP: 4,374 acres
  - Windy: at least 1,735 acres (Note: this estimate does not include two groves on the Tule River Reservation for which there is not publicly available spatial data)

Sequoia Grove Vegetation Burn Severity Analysis Using Composite Burn Index (CBI)

Fire severity was assessed using the USFS Rapid Assessment of Vegetation Condition after Wildfire (RAVG) four class Composite Burn Index product (CBI4) (details on the severity maps can be found on the RAVG website https://fsapps.nwcg.gov/ravg/). This analysis contains four categories of vegetation change: undetected change, low, moderate, and high, where high severity has been associated with 95% tree mortality (Miller et al., 2009). The acreage burned by severity class for each fire is:

KNP Complex (all ownerships):

Undetected change: 1,169 acres
Low: 1,849 acres
Moderate: 740 acres
High: 616 acres

Windy Fire (all ownerships):

Undetected change: 228 acres
Low: 659 acres
Moderate: 437 acres
High: 411 acres

Large Sequoia Mortality Estimates

For the KNP Complex we estimate that between 1,330-2,380 sequoias over four feet in diameter have already been killed or will die within the next three to five years. This estimate is based on RAVG satellite analysis combined with mortality rates from surveys in other sequoia groves that burned in three previous fires (similar methodology to Stephenson and Brigham 2021).

For the Windy Fire, we estimate that between 931-1,257 sequoias over four feet in diameter have already been killed or will die within the next three to five years.

The combined impact of these two fires is estimated to be 2,261-3,637 sequoias over four feet in diameter that have already been killed or will die within the next three to five years. These losses make up an estimated 3-5% of the entire Sierra Nevada sequoia population over four feet in diameter. On top of the 10-14% of large sequoias lost in the 2020 Castle fire, these fire impacts represent a significant threat to large sequoia persistence.

Dead sequoias killed fire — Dead sequoias, November, 2021. NPS photo.

Potential for Regeneration Failure

The least understood impacts of these wildfires are impacts to sequoia regeneration in high severity areas. Sequoias generally regenerate well after wildfire, though reports of inadequate regeneration in high severity areas are raising concerns. Regeneration failures could potentially occur if the cones and/or seeds were incinerated during crown fire, seeds did not survive the smoldering fire, or seeds washed away due to surface erosion. In these cases, regeneration would be dependent on proximity to live tree seed sources.

For the KNP complex we analyzed high severity areas within sequoia groves that were over 100 meters from an intact sequoia grove area with live sequoia trees (represented by areas of undetected change, low or moderate severity). In total 436 acres were identified that may be vulnerable to total sequoia loss if regeneration from seeds that survived the fire is inadequate. Of the 436 acres >100m from live sequoia forests, 335 acres are on NPS lands. The Burned Area Rehabilitation Plan recommends reforesting these 350 acres with giant sequoias if adequate regeneration is not present based on subsequent field surveys.

Erosion modeling suggests that the high severity areas identified for potential restoration are also at high risk of losing any seeds that did survive the fire due to surface erosion.

Other Key Points

In several places that burned during this event, previous prescribed fire work appears to have reduced fire severity (portions of Redwood Mountain Grove, Giant Forest). In other areas previous prescribed fire and mechanical thinning treatments, as well as preparation for upcoming burn units, allowed fire crews opportunities to safely fight fire more effectively (prescribed burn preparations at Lost Grove and Park Ridge Fire Lookout area were used during suppression operations on the KNP complex).

Although we are seeing some significant high and moderate severity areas in sequoia groves where we expect impacts to large giant sequoias to be detrimental, much of the grove area in the KNP Complex burned at low severity and we expect beneficial results for giant sequoias in these areas. These beneficial effects include fuel reduction, small canopy openings ideal for regeneration, and removal of litter and generation of ash – also ideal conditions for giant sequoia seedlings.

Other areas not classified as high severity may have also had beneficial effects, but the effects will likely be more mixed. In areas classified as “undetected change,” there will likely be a mix of completely unburned areas and areas that had a light surface fire that is similar to low severity fire effects. The fire effects in moderate severity will be the most variable, with some areas having beneficial effects and others being more severe.

Thanks and a tip of the hat go out to Ben.

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Grove-level Estimates

Sequoia Grove Vegetation Burn Severity Analysis Using Composite Burn Index (CBI)

Large Sequoia Mortality Estimates

Potential for Regeneration Failure

Other Key Points

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