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Lookout Towers on the KNP Complex-October 8, 2021
KNP Complex
Publication Type: News 10/08/2021
Lookout Towers on the KNP Complex
The Milk Ranch area burned in the early days of the KNP Complex. As fire activity in that area has substantially cooled, on October 2, crews were able to access it to perform a preliminary assessment of the damage. While the radio repeater equipment was destroyed by the fire, the steel structure and the lookout room appear to be still structurally sound. A more thorough assessment will be completed when conditions in that area have stabilized further.
Buck Rock Fire lookout is being prepped with structure protection wrap around the wooden components in anticipation that the area could see fire. The area where Buck Rock is located has a lot of rocky terrain with sparse fuels, which should be helpful in slowing fire spread into those areas, especially with cooler and wetter weather predicted in the coming days. However, there is a great deal of prep work occurring in that area of Sequoia National Forest right now, as the fire has been very active west of there. Crews are working to hold fire some distance west of Buck Rock (close to the NPS boundary, west of the Generals Highway).
Park Ridge Fire lookout is very close to the northwest edge of the fire. In fact, handlines from the planned, but not yet executed, Park Ridge Prescribed Burn are being used as primary holding features in the fire suppression efforts in that area, right by the lookout. While this does mean that fire is burning very near the lookout, it also means that firefighters are literally on the ground protecting that structure at close range, which has often not been possible for safety reasons elsewhere on this fire.(NPS fire and maintenance staff at Milk Ranch)
