June 19, 2022 - Prescribed Burn in Sequoia National Forest
Prescribed Burn in Sequoia National Forest
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On June 16, 2022, fire personnel were completing multiple ignitions in
the heart of the Giant Forest of the Sequoia and Kings Canyon National
Parks as the Moderate Resolution Imaging Spectroradiometer (MODIS) on
board NASA’s Aqua satellite acquired a true-color image of the region.
The red “hot spot” marks the areas of actively burning fire in the
Tharps-Hazelwood Prescribed Burn. Heavy smoke rises from the fire and
blows to the northeast.
The Giant Forest is precious territory, filled will hundreds of monarch
sequoia trees including the world’s largest tree (measured by volume),
the General Sherman Tree. This tree stands 275 feet (83 m) tall and
over 36 feet (11 m) in diameter at the base. These massive, ancient
trees were threatened by the severe KNP Fire Complex, which burned
88,307 acres between September 9 and December 16, 2021. The huge,
incredibly hot fire killed burned in much of the Sequoia and Kings
Canyon National Parks, killing more than a thousand sequoia trees and
damaging structures. Thanks to good fire management, including
prescribed burns, aggressive fire-fighting techniques, and an element
of sheer luck, the Giant Forest was spared serious damage.
Prescribed fires are fires that are deliberately set to manage forest
and reduce the danger of potentially catastrophic wildfire. Giant
sequoias are a species that have adapted to fire. Their bark is
protective and can survive low-grade fires while the seeds germinate in
the ash bed left behind a fire. Fire opens the forest canopy, allowing
sunlight to reach seedlings. Fires also reduce deadwood, which stops
reproduction of sequoia and increase the risk of a devastatingly large
wildfire. The National Park Service notes that historically, widespread
fires have burned in sequoia groves at average intervals ranging from 6
to 35 years.
Prescribed fires contribute to forest health and public safety. The
National Park Service explains that a fire's "prescription" includes
detailed analyses of geographic and ecological conditions. A
prescription is the window within which a fire may be ignited. These
conditions maximize our ability to control the fire and to minimize
smoke in local communities. If the weather doesn't meet the
prescription, the fire is not ignited.
The Tharps-Hazelwood Prescribed Burn had been originally planned for
last spring but was postponed due to site conditions being too dry at
the time. InciWeb Incident Information System quotes Superintendent
Clay Jordan as saying, “I am relieved we were able to complete this
critical prescribed burn. Last year’s KNP Complex Fire demonstrated how
important low-intensity recent fire history is in protecting giant
sequoia groves from catastrophic wildfire.”
The first ignition of the Tharps-Hazelwood Prescribed Burn occurred on
June 9 and the last fire was started on June 16. With ignitions
complete, firefighters will continue to patrol the area as vegetation
inside the unit burns down. Many trails and areas near the prescribed
burn will be closed until further notice, although visitors can still
visit many features, including the General Sherman Tree.
Image Facts
Satellite: Aqua
Date Acquired: 6/16/2022
Resolutions: 1km (19.5 KB), 500m (70 KB), 250m (227.1 KB)
Bands Used: 1,4,3
Image Credit: MODIS Land Rapid Response Team, NASA GSFC
https://modis.gsfc.nasa.gov/gallery/individual.php?db_date=2022-06-19
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