Mineral King Risk Reduction Project - Annual Reports
Beginning in 1995, Sequoia National Park embarked on a series of prescribed burns in the Mineral King area. Fires such as these reduce hazardous forest fuel buildup, protect public safety, and restore ecosystems to a more natural state. The Mineral King Risk-Reduction Burn Project is a multi-year plan to reduce the potential for intense wildfires as well as the high cost of fighting them. Burning adjoining areas over a number of years will create a patchwork of areas with less fuel and younger growth; these will slow the spread of inevitable future fires.
Did You Know?
The Sierra Nevada is still growing today. The mountains gain height during earthquakes on the east side of the range. But the mountains are being shortened by erosion almost as quickly as they grow. This erosion has deposited sediments thousands of feet thick on the floor of the San Joaquin Valley.