• Giant Sequoia Trees

    Sequoia & Kings Canyon

    National Parks California

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  • Changes to Some Opening/Closing Dates for Services and Facilities – Check Back for Updates

    Some of the opening/closing dates for facilities and visitor services in the parks have changed due to weather and/or other circumstances. See link for details and match to locations on the park map (under "Park Tools," bottom left, this page). More »

  • Road Conditions (Entire Park) and Road Construction Delays (if Entering/Exiting Hwy. 198)

    Expect 20-minute to 1-hour construction delays on main road through parks (Generals Hwy) until Memorial Day weekend (7 a.m.-6 p.m.). See link for schedule. Call for 24-hour road conditions info: 559-565-3341 (press 1, 1, 1). More »

  • Vehicle Length Limits Have Changed in Sequoia NP (if Entering/Exiting Hwy 198)

    Planning to see the "Big Trees" in Sequoia National Park? If you enter/exit via Hwy. 198, please pay close attention to new vehicle length advisories for your safety and the safety of others. More »

  • You May Have Trouble Calling Us. Use the "Contact Us" Link (Bottom Left) to Send an E-mail.

    We are experiencing technical problems receiving some incoming phone calls at the parks. We apologize for the inconvenience. Please keep trying to reach us or check this website for frequently-asked questions. The search box (top, right) may be helpful.

Fire Scar Images

Fire record from mid-elevation xeric conifer forest (primarily Jeffrey pine). Fire return intervals in this forest type usually range between 20-50 years (average of about 30 years) on the west slope of the Sierra Nevada.
Fire record from mid-elevation xeric conifer forest (primarily Jeffrey pine). Fire return intervals in this forest type usually range between 20-50 years (average of about 30 years) on the west slope of the Sierra Nevada.
NPS Photo by Anthony Caprio.
 
Record of fires from low elevation ponderosa pine forest with a high frequency fire regime. Between 1809 and 1860, the period prior to EuroAmerican settlement, 19 fires were recorded by this tree.

NPS Photo by Anthony Caprio

Record of fires from low elevation ponderosa pine forest with a high frequency fire regime. Between 1809 and 1860, the period prior to EuroAmerican settlement, 19 fires were recorded by this tree. © Photo by Anthony Caprio.
 
Long interval fire frequency regime from an upper elevation forest composed of red fir, western white pine, and small amounts of lodgepole pine. Fires are typically understory burns in red fir forest although small-to-moderate sized patches of overstory mortality can occur. Red fir trees are moderately tolerant of low intensity fire with larger trees having fairly thick fire resistant bark. In contrast, both western white and lodgepole pine have relatively thin bark that provides poor protection from fire. Thus they gernerally suffer proportionally higher mortality rates than red fir.
Long interval fire frequency regime from an upper elevation forest composed of red fir, western white pine, and small amounts of lodgepole pine. Fires are typically understory burns in red fir forest although small-to-moderate sized patches of overstory mortality can occur.

Red fir trees are moderately tolerant of low intensity fire with larger trees having fairly thick fire resistant bark. In contrast, both western white and lodgepole pine have relatively thin bark that provides poor protection from fire. Thus they gernerally suffer proportionally higher mortality rates than red fir.
Photo by Anthony Caprio

Did You Know?

California toad

Amphibians and reptiles live at all elevations within Sequoia & Kings Canyon National Parks. They range from common (such as western fence lizards and garter snakes) to rare (such as the mountain yellow-legged frog) to locally extinct (such as the foothill yellow-legged frog).