As much as 5% of the large giant sequoias in the Sierra Nevada died in this year’s KNP Complex and Windy fires.
The information was released through estimates from the National Park Service.
Because of the KNP Complex Fire, the agency estimated at least 1,330 sequoias have died or will die off within the next five years, while at least 931 have died or will die because of the Windy Fire. The fires burned a combined 6,109 acres, and the agency said as many as 3,637 trees could die as a result of both fires.
Sequoia managers are very concerned about the fires' long-term impact on the region's population, and its ability to regenerate, especially after as much as 14% of the Sierra Nevada large sequoias burned in last year's Castle Fire.
The National Park Service analyzed the high-severity areas from the damage of the KNP Complex, and determining 436 acres could be vulnerable to complete sequoia loss if seeds and cones do not regenerate. If the seeds don't, the agency wrote in its executive summary on the 2021 fire season's impacts that "the Burned Area Rehabilitation plan recommends reforesting 350 acres with giant sequoias."
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Many of the groves that burned in the KNP Complex did so at low severity, according to the agency. The National Park Service is expecting "beneficial results," which include "fuel reduction, small canopy openings ideal for regeneration and removal of litter and generation of ash," which are "ideal conditions for giant sequoia seedlings."
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