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Wilsonia Times: The Official Newsletter of Wilsonia Village Inc.
Volume 21 - SPECIAL EDITION - October 6, 2021
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KNP Complex: Fire Update
 
Monday was a scary day for the fire, which we described in the last edition. Thankfully, yesterday and today have been much better for Wilsonia.

The north end of the KNP Complex had an explosive run up Redwood Canyon on Monday that jumped over the Generals Highway. By Tuesday morning, the fire had slopped over Park Ridge south of the Lookout. Crews immediately began working on that area to stop forward growth. Yesterday and overnight last night, they used an old fire break to establish a new line and lit a backburn. By this morning, they had successfully stopped the movement to the north and west of the fire. Sprinkler lines have been set up and hoses laid out to help firefighters to hold that line, starting at the Lookout and going south to the highway.

A dozer break is being constructed from Dark Canyon (southeast of Big Stump) up to the highway west of where the fire jumped the highway on Monday night (east of the Wye). This will help protect the highways (180 and Generals) from fire crossing over from the south.

Structural engine crews and hotshots have been working in Wilsonia, doing some extra defensible space clearing and putting down hoses around the perimeter of Wilsonia. Firefighters and engines are in Wilsonia 24 hours a day to watch for any spot fires. John Ziegler, Sequoia-Kings Canyon Fire Management Officer, is confident that the crews in place - combined with the excellent defensible space work we have been doing - will make Wilsonia very defendable.
 
Because of the prep work done on Park Ridge during the summer and in the last few days, the crews stationed nearby should be able to hold the fire from advancing over Park Ridge and down toward Wilsonia.

Even so, they are continuing to build contingency lines along the ridge. Chief Ziegler reminds us that years of prescribed burns have lessened the fuel load and will help protect the area, as we were protected from the Rough Fire of 2015.

Today, we had favorable winds out of the west that will help move the smoke and fire to the east. Higher relative humidity (RH) levels and rain forecast for Friday also will help with the spread of the fire.

Since this fire has basically split into two active fronts (north and south), they have brought in a new Type 1 Incident Command that will focus on the northern part of the fire. That team is transitioning in over the next few days, and will be stationed closer to the north end of the fire.

Today, October 6th, the acreage of the KNP Complex is 81,466 with 11% containment. The personnel assigned to the fire today is 1,866. The span of the fire from the N-NW edge behind Park Ridge to the S-SE at the East Fork Kaweah is approximately 23 miles.

Please check the official information sources (listed below) for more detailed information about the entire Complex.

If you have questions for the WVI Board, just reply to this email.
Map showing the relative location of the fire to Wilsonia. Wilsonia is at the upper left corner of the image, with the fire at the bottom right corner (southeast of Wilsonia). Arrows indicate a distance of approximately one mile from the southeast corner of Wilsonia (near Alta and Goddard) to the edge of the fire near Park Ridge Lookout.
Map showing the distance from the fire edge south of Park Ridge Lookout relative to Wilsonia
Map showing the growth of the fire. Different colors indicate fire growth for each day. The fire has steadily grown from the bottom right (southeast) corner towards the center of the map, stretching northwest toward Wilsonia (not labeled on the map)
Fire progression map for 10-6. Click on the image to see the entire Complex and map legend.
Map showing callouts for different segments of the KNP Complex
KNP Activity map for 10-6-21. Click on the map to see the entire Complex and map legend.
Fire engine and portable water tanks at the south entrance of Wilsonia
Photo showing firefighter hose lays along Sierra Lane at Park Rd with a cabin in the background
Photo showing a structural fire parked with a cabin in the background
A hose stretches along the ground at the corner of Sierra and Whitney. The road sign is visible to the left. The image is slightly brownish-tinged due to smoke.
A hose stretches in front of a cabin at the east entrance to the Masonic tract at Hillcrest and Grant.
Firefighters in Wilsonia

Photos from Wilsonia yesterday, showing portable tanks at the south entrance, fire engines, hose lays at Park and Sierra, Sierra and Whitney, and into the Masonic Tract at Grant and Hillcrest. Thank you to our anonymous photographer who shared these images.
Additional Information

We will send additional special editions of the Wilsonia Times when there are major developments relevant to Wilsonia, including when the evacuation order is lifted. If you've missed any issues of the Wilsonia Times, you can catch up at wilsoniatimes.com.

For more frequent updates, check the Wilsonia Village Facebook page. We are constantly watching the latest information on the fire and will highlight the news that is most relevant to Wilsonia. The page is currently updated multiple times per day. You can view the page even if you are not a Facebook user. (Please note that Facebook has been experiencing outages around the world today; if you have difficulty accessing the page, please try again later.)
 
For the latest updates on the KNP complex and other fires, watch the and CalFIRE incidents pages.

To sign up for emergency alerts and to view evacuation information, visit the Tulare County's Office of Emergency Services page.

Because many park personnel who typically update the websites have been evacuated, the NPS recommends following their social media accounts for the latest information. The NPS is frequently updating the Sequoia-Kings Canyon Facebook page and Twitter. They have been livestreaming their daily morning briefings and periodic community meetings to the Facebook page.

For information and news from our local National Park and National Forest, visit the Sequoia and Kings Canyon National Park and Sequoia National Forest websites. You can also subscribe to the Sequoia and Kings Canyon National Parks fire information email list by texting KNP to 22828, and following the prompts.


Air quality conditions in Wilsonia have been in the unhealthy to hazardous range. To monitor air quality in Wilsonia, visit fire.airnow.gov and search for Kings Canyon National Park. There is a sensor set up near the Visitor Center on Hilltop Road that is visible on this map.

If you are looking for a tangible way to support our firefighting crews, they have previously appreciated donations to the Wildland Firefighter Foundation, which helps families of firefighters killed in the line of duty and assists injured firefighters and their families.
The Wilsonia Times is the official newsletter of Wilsonia Village Inc.
Editor: Neal Mixter
Visit wilsoniatimes.com to read past issues.
Questions about the Wilsonia Times? Email us at wilsoniatimes@gmail.com.

Copyright © 2021 Wilsonia Village Inc, All rights reserved.


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