[1][2] The grove also contains several historical points of interest, including pioneer cabins, giant sequoia stumps left by 19th-century loggers, and the site where the Forest King exhibition tree was felled in 1870 for display.

[4]: 93 Nelder Grove, a montane forest in the Sierra Nevada, is primarily composed of giant sequoias along with other tree species such as ponderosa pine, white fir, and California incense-cedar.

[14] Nelder, who came to California during the 1849 gold rush, filed a homestead claim for 165 acres within the grove in 1874 and built a cabin near its largest tree the following year.

[15] Since '49 he had wandered over most of the Sierra, sinking innumerable prospect holes like a sailor making soundings, digging new channels for streams, sifting gold-sprinkled boulder and gravel beds with unquenchable energy, life's noon the meanwhile passing unnoticed into late afternoon shadows.

Then, health and gold gone, the game played and lost, like a wounded deer creeping into this forest solitude, he awaits the sundown call.John Nelder was killed in 1889 when a fire consumed his cabin.

However, the dirt road leading into the grove can be difficult, with muddy and rutted conditions, and is often impassable due to deep snow during the winter months.

[25] These cabins, originally constructed by pioneers in the late 1800s at nearby Bildeo Meadow, were moved to Nelder Grove in the 1980s under a project funded by the National Historic Preservation Act.

[28][29][30][31][32] Experts attribute the wildfire’s intensity to several factors, including the historic 2011–2017 California drought, which caused significant dieback and stress in giant sequoias.

[33] Additionally, a century of fire suppression had led to heavy fuel buildup on the forest floor and dense understory growth, making the blaze more destructive.

As early as the 1960s, Madera County discussed acquiring the grove to bypass federal restrictions on timber cutting and prescribed burns in the Sierra National Forest.

[40] In July 2022, the U.S. Forest Service authorized an expedited Emergency Response plan to reduce combustible materials in Nelder Grove.