With yet another atmospheric river bearing down on California, both Kings Canyon and Sequoia national parks plan to close some areas on Thursday.

Threats to visitors and park infrastructure posed by 12,000-15,000 "hazard trees" burned during the massive KNP Complex fire of 2021 at Kings Canyon and Sequoia national parks but still standing has the National Park Service formulating a plan to deal with them. The agency's preference is to remove tree hazards along roadways and the parks' developed areas within the fire's burn perimeter and then treat fallen debris around infrastructure and within up to 80 feet from the edge of roadways.

Campground fee increases will take effect for Sequoia and Kings Canyon national parks in California on January 1. This is the first of two increases, with the second set to take effect in 2024, according to a park release. This phased increase brings the two parks' campground fees in line with prices of similar campgrounds in the area and follows a public comment period that was announced in August 2022.

Whitebark pines, majestic trees that grow across Western national parks and feed birds and bears and serve as living snow fences, are at risk of disappearing due to disease, beetle attacks, and climate change and deserve protection as a threatened species under the Endangered Species Act, the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service announced Wednesday.