LOS ANGELES — The KNP Complex Fire tearing through Sequoia National Park triggered a flurry of evacuations Friday morning, as flames — spurred by a drying trend — threatened communities and burned toward more giant sequoias.
A spot fire ignited across the North Fork Kaweah River, along the northwestern end of the blaze, growing to about 600 acres by the following morning, fire officials said.
As crews focused on battling the spot fire, an evacuation order was issued Friday morning for the communities of Grant Grove, Wilsonia and Cedar Grove in Kings Canyon National Park — near where towering giant sequoias rise and park staff live, according to Cassie Adams, a spokesperson for the fire.
Around the same time, the Tulare County Sheriff’s Office issued its own mandatory evacuation orders for the communities of Big Meadows, Weston Meadows and Quail Flat in the Giant Sequoia National Monument.
Additional orders and warnings went out Thursday as fire activity in the north picked up. Authorities placed the communities of Eshom and Hartland Camp in Tulare County under mandatory evacuation. Fresno County issued its first warnings, for the Miramonte/Pinehurst area.
More evacuation information can be found on the Tulare County Sheriff’s Office Facebook page, the Fresno County Sheriff’s Office Facebook page, and the Sequoia and Kings Canyon National Parks Facebook page.
The KNP Complex Fire — one of two lightning-sparked blazes tearing through the southern Sierra Nevada — had seared 51,596 acres and was 20 percent contained Friday morning. To the south, the Windy fire — which has destroyed more than a dozen homes — was 89,804 acres and 40 percent contained. Both blazes erupted Sept. 9 amid a massive lightning storm.
Containment for the twin fires has risen significantly in recent days. Cooler temperatures and higher humidity dampened fire activity, allowing firefighters to wage more direct attacks and firm up containment lines.
But a drying trend is forcing temperatures up and humidity down — conditions expected to spur more aggressive fire behavior.
“Those fuels, that stored energy on the ground, from grass to timber — it’s just marinating in that dry air,” said Jeff Shelton, a fire- behavior analyst with the Windy fire, during a Friday morning briefing.
“And so without moisture in the fuels, the fire is able to move through it and just translate as energy all the way across the landscape unimpeded,” he added.
