Prescribed burn planned for this Sierra Nevada state park. What visitors need to know

A prescribed fire is planned for later this month at a popular park in Calaveras County.

Roughly 1,300 acres in Calaveras Big Trees State Park will be part of a prescribed burn starting as soon as Oct. 30, California State Parks announced Wednesday. The treatment will cover parts of the South Grove of the park just east of Arnold in the Sierra Nevada foothills.

Visitors should expect closures of the South Grove Trail, Beaver Creek area, Bradley Grove Trail and the Walter W. Smith Memorial Parkway south of the Stanislaus River, as well as fire roads around the South Grove. Officials are expecting smoke to remain in the area for “some time” after the active firing has stopped.

California State Parks and Cal Fire have been preparing the South Grove for a prescribed burn for years, noting crews have removed material to create a controllable perimeter around the 1,300-acre area planned for the burn. Crews have also removed flammable debris surrounding the signature giant sequoias within the area.

“Forest management and prescribed fire help restore and maintain a complex forest community, reduce hazardous fuel loads, improve wildlife habitat, restore nutrients to the soil, protect park infrastructure and reduce the chance of catastrophic wildfire,” state parks officials said in a news release.

The timing of the burning will depend on weather and air quality conditions. State parks officials said if weather or vegetation conditions are not conducive for burning smoke dispersal, the prescribed burn could be re-scheduled. The burn is being done in conjunction with the U.S. Forest Service and the National Park Service.

Big Trees State Park is the only state park in California that protects groves of giant sequoias, state parks officials said.

“To see giant sequoias elsewhere, you’ve got to go to a national park or a monument,” said Karri Pearcey, a spokeswoman for Big Trees. “We’re right here. We’re super easy to access, so we have a lot of really amazing giant sequoias.”

An updated list of the park’s closures can be found at the park’s website.