Park Fire Brigade Saves Private Cabin In Wilsonia

Sequoia & Kings Canyon National Parks (CA)
Park Fire Brigade Saves Private Cabin In Wilsonia

On Saturday, May 29th, Grant Grove rangers received a report of a cabin on fire in the community of Wilsonia, a private residential inholding within Kings Canyon under the exclusive jurisdiction of Sequoia and Kings Canyon National Parks. Grant Grove Engine 52 and a cooperating agency structural engine from Hume Lake responded. Rangers arrived on scene to find moderate smoke coming from the roof eaves and windows on the chimney side of a two-storey cabin. Due to snow conditions, an extensive hose lay was required to reach the structure. Hose teams entered the building and exposed the seat of the fire, which was within the wall above the fireplace. The fire was extinguished before it had the opportunity to extend to the second floor. The fire was found to have been caused by a fire in the fireplace that had escaped through cracks in the chimney, allowing it into the interior of the walls. The wood frame structure would have been a total loss without the intervention of the Grant Grove and Hume Lake brigades. Damage was estimated at $20,000.