Please ensure Javascript is enabled for purposes of website accessibility
Sequoia Complex Fire Grows to 114,320 Acres, Threatens Tulare County Communities
Bill McEwen updated website photo 2024
By Bill McEwen, News Director
Published 5 years ago on
September 15, 2020

Share

The Sequoia Complex Fire has grown to 107,101 acres, with 12% containment, and continues to threaten the Tulare County community of Springville, as well as Sequoia and Kings Canyon National Parks, officials said Tuesday.

On Wednesday morning, the size of the fire was updated to 114,320 acres.

“A lot of hard firefighting is ahead of us and we are working to provide critical community protection.” — Mike Goicoechea, Sequoia Complex Fire incident commander 

In addition, the wildfire’s east flank will continue to threaten the Blackrock Ranger Station and other U.S. Forest Service facilities and the cultural values and resources in the Monache Meadows area.

On the blaze’s north flank, the Kern River Ranger Station, Quinn Patrol adjacent private land, and the national parks are threatened.

“Hand crews, heavy equipment, engines, and aircraft are all being used to attack the fire. Firefighters are aggressively fighting the fire and implementing point protection to protect critical values at risk,” officials said in Tuesday’s incident report.

“As opportunities allow crews are looking for opportunities to create containment lines, though delayed to extreme fire behavior. Resource shortage is limiting containment effort while point protection remains the highest priority.”

The fire was 90,845 acres, with 12% containment, on Monday.

Watch: Sequoia Complex Fire Report

Resources Deployed to the Fire

There are 819 personnel on the scene, including 12 hand crews. They have 62 engines, 19 water tenders, eight helicopters, and five dozers available.

Thus far, 3,483 residents have evacuated, and 104 buildings have been destroyed. Another 1,683 structures are threatened.

Aerial resources continue to be used heavily on the fire with 237,000 gallons of retardant dropped on Sunday.

The blaze is under the unified command of the Northern Rockies Incident Management Team 1 and Cal Fire.

“A lot of hard firefighting is ahead of us and we are working to provide critical community protection,” said Mike Goicoechea, who is the incident commander.  “We welcome Cal Fire Team 6 and look forward to working as a team of one and doing our best with them in this firefight.”

BLM Closes Case Mountain

On Tuesday, the Bureau of Land Management ordered the emergency closure of the Case Mountain Extensive Recreation Management Area near Three Rivers in Tulare County.

The closure prohibits public access to the Case Mountain recreation area, which is comprised of 20,000 acres of public land located south of Highway 198 and supports the only BLM-managed giant sequoia groves. Officials said that the closure was also needed to protect wildland firefighters. The closure is at this link.

Evacuations and Closures

  • Evacuation Orders and Warnings from the Tulare County Sheriff’s Office may be found at https://www.facebook.com/TulareSheriff .
  • Tulare County residents are encouraged to sign up for emergency notifications at alerttc.com
  • The Red Cross has reopened an evacuation centeratPorterville Community College and opened an evacuation center at the North Exeter Community Building. For further evacuation assistance, call the Red Cross at 1-800-RED-CROSS or https://tinyurl.com/yafetgkj
  • Park and Campgrounds closuresPotwisha Campground in Sequoia National Park; Mountain Home Demonstration State Forest; Tulare County’s Balch Park Campground; and all the campgrounds within the Sequoia and Inyo National Forests.
  • All National Forests in California are closed as of Sept, 9.
  • Current conditions in Sequoia and Kings Canyon National Parks: https://tinyurl.com/y3q9x5l8.

DON'T MISS

What Are Fresno Real Estate Experts Predicting for 2025 and Beyond?

DON'T MISS

First California EV Mandates Hit Automakers This Year. Most Are Not Even Close

DON'T MISS

Will California Meet Newsom’s 2035 EV Deadline? It Won’t Even Hit the 2026 Target 

DON'T MISS

Trump Says Putin May Not Want Peace and May Need to Be ‘Dealt With Differently’

DON'T MISS

Is It Bad to Chew Gum All Day?

DON'T MISS

Dollar Doubts Dominate Gathering of Global Economic Leaders

DON'T MISS

US Judge Temporarily Stops West Texas Immigrant Deportations Under Alien Enemies Act

DON'T MISS

Shedeur Sanders’ Long Wait Ends When Browns Take Him in the 5th Round of the NFL Draft

DON'T MISS

Only About Half of Republicans Say Trump Has Focused on the Right Priorities

DON'T MISS

ICE Deports the Mother of an Infant and a 2-Year-Old Who Is a US Citizen

DON'T MISS

Israeli Airstrike Kills 10 People, Half of Them Children

DON'T MISS

Shedeur Sanders Is Still Waiting for a Call as the NFL Draft Enters the Final Day

UP NEXT

Only About Half of Republicans Say Trump Has Focused on the Right Priorities

UP NEXT

Israeli Airstrike Kills 10 People, Half of Them Children

UP NEXT

Shedeur Sanders Is Still Waiting for a Call as the NFL Draft Enters the Final Day

UP NEXT

Israel’s AI Experiments in the War in Gaza Raise Ethical Concerns

UP NEXT

Paul Skenes Strikes Out 9, Wins Duel With Yamamoto in Pirates’ Victory Over Dodgers

UP NEXT

Eovaldi Outlasts Verlander as Rangers Beat Giants

UP NEXT

Rams Take Oregon Tight End Terrance Ferguson in Second Round After Trading Out of First

UP NEXT

The Latest: Francis Is Remembered as a ‘Pope Among the People’ as He Is Laid to Rest

UP NEXT

Trump Now Doubts Putin Wants to End Ukraine War, a Day After Saying a Deal Was Close

UP NEXT

Fresno Elderly Woman Evicted, Forced to Leave Dogs Behind. One Still Needs a Home.

Bill McEwen,
News Director
Bill McEwen is news director and columnist for GV Wire. He joined GV Wire in August 2017 after 37 years at The Fresno Bee. With The Bee, he served as Opinion Editor, City Hall reporter, Metro columnist, sports columnist and sports editor through the years. His work has been frequently honored by the California Newspapers Publishers Association, including authoring first-place editorials in 2015 and 2016. Bill and his wife, Karen, are proud parents of two adult sons, and they have two grandsons. You can contact Bill at 559-492-4031 or at Send an Email

Dollar Doubts Dominate Gathering of Global Economic Leaders

1 day ago

US Judge Temporarily Stops West Texas Immigrant Deportations Under Alien Enemies Act

2 days ago

Shedeur Sanders’ Long Wait Ends When Browns Take Him in the 5th Round of the NFL Draft

2 days ago

Only About Half of Republicans Say Trump Has Focused on the Right Priorities

2 days ago

ICE Deports the Mother of an Infant and a 2-Year-Old Who Is a US Citizen

2 days ago

Israeli Airstrike Kills 10 People, Half of Them Children

2 days ago

Shedeur Sanders Is Still Waiting for a Call as the NFL Draft Enters the Final Day

2 days ago

Israel’s AI Experiments in the War in Gaza Raise Ethical Concerns

2 days ago

Paul Skenes Strikes Out 9, Wins Duel With Yamamoto in Pirates’ Victory Over Dodgers

2 days ago

Eovaldi Outlasts Verlander as Rangers Beat Giants

2 days ago

Will California Meet Newsom’s 2035 EV Deadline? It Won’t Even Hit the 2026 Target 

It was with brash confidence that Gov. Gavin Newsom announced that by 2035, the only new cars and light trucks sold in California would be e...

20 hours ago

20 hours ago

Will California Meet Newsom’s 2035 EV Deadline? It Won’t Even Hit the 2026 Target 

1 day ago

Trump Says Putin May Not Want Peace and May Need to Be ‘Dealt With Differently’

1 day ago

Is It Bad to Chew Gum All Day?

1 day ago

Dollar Doubts Dominate Gathering of Global Economic Leaders

2 days ago

US Judge Temporarily Stops West Texas Immigrant Deportations Under Alien Enemies Act

2 days ago

Shedeur Sanders’ Long Wait Ends When Browns Take Him in the 5th Round of the NFL Draft

2 days ago

Only About Half of Republicans Say Trump Has Focused on the Right Priorities

2 days ago

ICE Deports the Mother of an Infant and a 2-Year-Old Who Is a US Citizen

Help continue the work that gets you the news that matters most.

Search

Send this to a friend