Giant Sequoia Grove Health & Resilience Assessment 2026

Dillonwood Grove

Dillonwood Grove

Overview

Health & Resilience Summary

low

1.7

This grove is ranked Low for Relative Overall Vulnerability due to:

Wildfire Vulnerability

Low - 0.3

Regen Vulnerability

Low - 1.7

See the Grove Health & Resilience section below for more information.

low

1.4

This grove is ranked Low for Relative Management Priority due to:

Overall Vulnerability

Low - 1.7

Treatment Feasibility

Moderate - 4.2

See the Management Considerations section below for more information.

Grove Map

Grove map

Grove Map - click map for more detailed spatial information

Grove Information

PropertyValue
Grove Size (Acres)1040
LocationUpper Tule Watershed, Tulare County
Management Unit(s)Giant Sequoia National Monument / Sequoia National Forest, Sequoia - Kings Canyon National Park
Land Steward(s)NPS SEKI, USFS SQF GSNM

About Dillonwood Grove

Dillonwood Grove is a 1,040-acre grove in the Tule and Kern River Watershed region situated between 4,968 - 7,514 feet elevation at 36.30682°N. It is located in the Tule drainage, within the Kaweah River watershed. The grove is managed by Sequoia-Kings Canyon National Park and Sequoia National Forest/Giant Sequoia National Monument. Dillonwood Grove was heavily logged and only some old growth sequoias survived; perhaps 50 or more on the Sequoia National Forest portion. It is now dominated by vigorous young sequoia stands. Dillonwood Grove was formerly recognized as a single contiguous unit with Garfield Grove and Dillonwood-West Grove.

Dillonwood Grove

Health & Resilience

Dillonwood Grove is ranked Low for Relative Overall Vulnerability because it is at a Low risk of being negatively impacted by the effects of severe wildfire and at Low risk for inadequate natural regeneration.

Additionally, Dillonwood Grove is at Low risk for negative impacts from drought stress, Low levels of tree mortality have been detected in the grove, and the presence and activity of beetles in the grove is Unknown. 100% of Dillonwood Grove has burned in large fires since 1984. See below for more detailed information.

low

1.7

Relative Overall Vulnerability
Components of Relative Overall Vulnerability

Relative Overall Vulnerability is based on Wildfire Vulnerability and Regeneration Vulnerability using an area-weighted calculation. See Grove Assessment Analysis Methods for more details.

The pie charts below provide the percentage of the grove with high, medium, and low vulnerabilities. Click on the charts to view interactive maps of these vulnerabilities within the grove.

Additional Grove Health & Resilience Information

Below is additional information about Dillonwood Grove's Health & Resilience. These data, their inputs, and any available notes and updates may be found in the Grove Resilience Datasheet.

Beetle Activity
unknown

Beetle Activity in Dillonwood Grove has not been determined.

Please see the Grove Resilience Datasheet for details.

Drought-related Tree Mortality (all species)
low

The drought- and insect-related mortality of all tree species combined in Dillonwood Grove is estimated as Low according to USFS dead canopy surveys from 2017-2021. Please see Grove Assessment Analysis Methods for details.

Wildfire History

The table below provides information about large wildfires in this grove recorded since 1984. See this map of wildfires and locations of high severity fire.

MetricValue
WildfiresCASTLE - 2020, MOSES - 2008
% of grove burned 100%
% of grove unburned 0%
Fire Return Interval Departure High

The chart below provides the percentages of the grove burned at different levels of severity for each wildfire since 1984.

0 - Unburned
1 - Low to Moderate Severity (<640RdNBR)
2 - High Severity (640-800RdNBR)
3 - Very High Severity (>800RdNBR)

Dillonwood Grove

Management Considerations

Dillonwood Grove is ranked Low for Relative Management Priority because it has Low Relative Overall Vulnerability and Moderate feasibility for implementing management actions toward restoration goals.

Additionally, the grove is 5.8 miles from a community and is 2.9 miles from recreational infrastructure. A portion of the grove was privately owned with cabins. See below for more detailed information.

low

1.4

Relative Management Priority
Components of Relative Management Priority

Relative Management Priority is determined by combining the Relative Overall Vulnerability and Treatment Feasibility ranks. See Grove Assessment Analysis Methods for more details.

Relative Overall Vulnerability

Low - 1.7

See the Health & Resilience section above for the component metrics for the Relative Overall Vulnerability rank.

Treatment Feasibility

moderate - 4.2

FactorValue
Special Land Designation(Grove Manager mentioned proposed wilderness)
Grove Manager OpinionUnknown
RemoteNo
Additional Management Considerations

Below is additional information relevant to Dillonwood Grove's Management Considerations. These data, their inputs, and any available notes and updates may be found in the Grove Resilience Datasheet.

Treatment History

The table below lists treatment projects in and 90 meters around this grove implemented since 2022. See this map of grove treatments.

Treatment Type % of GroveAcres
Mechanical Treatments0%0
Prescribed Fire0%0
Pile Treatments0%0
Pile Burns0%0
Replanting0%0

Management Recommendations

The table below provides an estimate of the percentage and acreage of the grove that are recommended for evaluation for treatment based on the Vulnerability Models. See this map of Grove Vulnerability Models.

Treatment Need % of GroveAcres
Fuels Reduction/Restoration0%0
Reforestation17.3%179.92

Dillonwood Grove

Photos

Jul 2024
postfire
Dead monarch sequoia in the Dillonwood Grove after the 2020 Castle Fire
Dead monarch sequoia in the Dillonwood Grove after the 2020 Castle Fire
Jul 2024
postfire
Live monarch sequoia burned at low severity in the Dillonwood Grove from the 2020 Castle Fire
Live monarch sequoia burned at low severity in the Dillonwood Grove from the 2020 Castle Fire
Jul 2024
postfire
Cluster of live monarch sequoias burned at moderate severity in the Dillonwood Grove from the 2020 Castle Fire
Cluster of live monarch sequoias burned at moderate severity in the Dillonwood Grove from the 2020 Castle Fire
Jul 2024
postfire
Crown of live monarch sequoia burned at moderate severity in the Dillonwood Grove from the 2020 Castle Fire
Crown of live monarch sequoia burned at moderate severity in the Dillonwood Grove from the 2020 Castle Fire
Jul 2024
postfire
Live monarch sequoia burned at low severity in the Dillonwood Grove from the 2020 Castle Fire
Live monarch sequoia burned at low severity in the Dillonwood Grove from the 2020 Castle Fire

Dillonwood Grove

References

Find more giant sequoia science by searching the GSLC Scientific Publications Library.

Explore more groves or learn about the Giant Sequoia Lands Coalition.

Disclaimer

The information presented in the Giant Sequoia Grove Health & Resilience Assessment is intended to supplement on-the-ground knowledge of giant sequoia groves for use in conjunction with current on-the-ground knowledge of grove condition and management activities when planning fuel treatment and reforestation projects. It should not be considered the only source of information about the condition of groves.