2015 Rough Fire: One Year Later

Date: July 22, 2016
Contact: Mike Theune, 559-565-3703
Contact: Rebecca Paterson, 559-565-3129

SEQUOIA AND KINGS CANYON NATIONAL PARKS, Calif. July 22, 2016 –As the one year anniversary of the Rough Fire approaches;the National Park Service has released an interactive map along with a series of videos to share the story of the Rough Fire. The eight videos will be released one a week for the next few months. Starting on July 31, 2015 from a lighting strike, the Rough Fire grew to be over 151,000 acres and the 2^nd largest wildfire in modern Sierra Nevada history.

The interactive map is a way that the public can learn and share the story of the Rough Fire. As users click through the days, they can see pictures from the fire and see a map showing how the fire grew over the course of 99 days.

David Allen, Sequoia and Kings Canyon National Parks Fire Management Officer shared, "We want to use this opportunity to share the story of the Rough Fire while it is still fresh in people's minds. It's by capturing these events;we can continue to learn from past fires and for future ones."

Each video or vignette is between ninety seconds and two minutes long and tells a specific story related to the fire. These range from safety, air quality, and giant sequoias to destinations such as Grant Grove and Cedar Grove.

"One of the themes seen throughout these videos is how important having an active fire and fuels management program is to protecting the parks during a Rough Fire event. Previous prescribed burns played a key role in protecting hundreds of millions of dollars in assets located in Grant Grove and Cedar Grove," added Allen.

Visitors can explore the interactive maps on the parks' website at go.nps.gov/sekifire and see the videos as they are release on the parks' website and Facebook page at Facebook.com/SequoiaKingsNPS

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About Sequoia and Kings Canyon National Parks' Fire Management Program

For over forty years, our mission has been to use the full range of options and strategies available to manage fire in the parks. This includes protecting park resources, employees, and the public from unwanted fire; building and maintaining fire resilient ecosystems; reducing the threat to local communities from wildfires emanating from the parks or adjacent lands; and recruiting, training, and retaining a professional fire management workforce.