SEQUOIA NATIONAL FOREST — A controlled fire intended to improve forest health is burning about 25 miles northeast of Porterville.

The Shotgun Fire, located in the Golden Trout Wilderness where Shotgun Creek meets the Little Kern River, has grown to 899 acres but is not expected to grow much larger, according to a news release provided by the Sequoia National Forest.

The blaze is being managed by 90 firefighters from the U.S. Forest Service and National Park Service. Many of these firefighters are expected to return home by Friday, the release said.

“For more than 100 years, the philosophy has been to suppress fires at all costs,” Western Divide District Ranger Priscilla Summers said in the release. “The current condition of the Golden Trout Wilderness and surrounding Giant Sequoia National Monument shows the absence of natural fire.”

In the past few years, the Sequoia National Forest has experienced devastating wildfires that, in large part, have been due to the condition of the forests, officials said in the release. Forests are choking with brush, tinder-dry dead leaves, branches and trees because of fire suppression and reduced forest management over many decades.

Because of these conditions, the risk of abnormally hot, intense and damaging wildfires has increased, forest officials said.

“Fire is a natural occurrence,” Summers said. “It enhances the ecosystem’s ability to sustain nutrient cycles and enhance productivity. Nutrients released as a result of fires are quickly used by new plants and trees.”

There are no trail closures in the Golden Trout Wilderness, but visitors are urged to be cautious when traveling in the area near the fire.

-- Contact The Recorder newsroom at 784-5000, Ext. 1043.