The McNally Fire was a massive

wildfire A wildfire, forest fire, bushfire, wildland fire or rural fire is an unplanned, uncontrolled and unpredictable fire in an area of combustible vegetation. Depending on the type of vegetation present, a wildfire may be more specifically identi ...

in the

Sequoia National Forest Sequoia National Forest is located in the southern Sierra Nevada mountains of California. The U.S. National Forest is named for the majestic Giant Sequoia (''Sequoiadendron giganteum'') trees which populate 38 distinct groves within the boundari ...

which burned in July and August 2002, and the largest wildfire of the 2002 California wildfire season. The fire burned from July 21 to August 29, 2002, through the Sequoia and

Inyo National Forest Inyo National Forest is a United States National Forest covering parts of the eastern Sierra Nevada of California and the White Mountains of California and Nevada. The forest hosts several superlatives, including Mount Whitney, the highest po ...

, as well as 5% of

Giant Sequoia National Monument The Giant Sequoia National Monument is a U.S. National Monument located in the southern Sierra Nevada in eastern central California. It is administered by the U.S. Forest Service as part of the Sequoia National Forest and includes 38 of the 3 ...

. It destroyed 14 structures and cost an estimated $45.7 million to put out. The blaze was started due to the "careless use of fire" near the Roads End Resort in

Kern Canyon The Kern River Canyon is a canyon in Kern County, California. It is located in the Southern Sierra Nevada. The canyon was formed by the Kern River, and connects the Kern River Valley and southern San Joaquin Valley.Lee, Charles. ''An Intensive ...

, and spread east through the canyon and threatened the communities of Johnsondale and Ponderosa. It burned within one mile (1.6 km) of the Packsaddle Grove of

giant sequoia ''Sequoiadendron giganteum'' (giant sequoia; also known as giant redwood, Sierra redwood, Sierran redwood, California big tree, Wellingtonia or simply big treea nickname also used by John Muir) is the sole living species in the genus ''Sequoiade ...

Effects

Of the acreage burned in the fire, over 73,000 acres were burned at a high to moderate severity. This left much of the soil dry and stripped, making parts of the Sequoia National Forest vulnerable to soil erosion and flooding. In November 2002, a strong rainstorm hit the fire-affected area, dumping 20 inches of rain over the course of 48 hours. This heavy rain, in conjunction with the stripped soil, caused the

Kern River The Kern River, previously Rio de San Felipe, later La Porciuncula, is an Endangered, Wild and Scenic river in the U.S. state of California, approximately long. It drains an area of the southern Sierra Nevada mountains northeast of Bakersfield ...

to swell rapidly and flood the surrounding areas of the forest. Following this flooding, an additional $3 million in emergency funds were used, in an attempt to minimize future damage from erosion and flooding. Recovery efforts from the fire began in 2005 and involved the

planting Sowing is the process of planting seeds. An area or object that has had seeds planted in it will be described as a sowed or sown area. Plants which are usually sown Among the major field crops, oats, wheat, and rye are sown, grasses and leg ...

of 400,000 saplings over 5,000 acres of the forest, with the rest being left to recover and regrow naturally. The replanted areas continue to be monitored for growth, with further replanting occurring in areas with low survival rates. However, the entire regrowth process from the McNally Fire is expected take 150-250 years.

References

2002 California wildfires Giant Sequoia National Monument Sequoia National Forest July 2002 events in the United States August 2002 events in the United States {{california-stub