CALIFORNIA IN BRIEF : SEQUOIA NATIONAL PARK : 2 Parks Resume Natural Burns

Sequoia and Kings Canyon national parks, which abut each other in the Sierra, are the first in the nation to resume a policy of letting some lightning fires burn themselves out, officials reported. A National Park Service policy of letting selected fires burn naturally was suspended last year after a decision to let wildfires go uncontrolled in Yellowstone National Park was criticized. The suspension has been lifted only at Sequoia and Kings Canyon after approval by regional director Lew Albert of the park service of a revised fire management plan for the two parks, spokesman William Tweed said. Fires will be allowed to burn only within specific ranges of temperature, wind speed and fuel moisture, Tweed said. Enough firefighters must be on hand to put out a fire if necessary. “The goal of the program is to perpetuate the role of natural fire in park ecosystems without threatening public safety or property,” Tweed said.