Overview
- The Tulare County Coroner’s Office pronounced Kalem Peter Kazarian, 52, dead in Sequoia National Park following a hiking incident that occurred on Monday, October 5, 2026.
- Local reports say Kazarian was attempting to climb Mount Whitney, but coroner records and public statements leave the precise location of his death unconfirmed.
- The coroner has not yet released an official cause of death and investigators have asked the public to await further details from the office.
- Kazarian was a Fresno-area contractor who owned Kazarian Custom Homes, appeared in HGTV’s 2019 pilot Go Big or Go Home, and is survived by his wife, Jonelle, and their three children.
- Mount Whitney sits on the boundary of Sequoia National Park and Inyo National Forest, requires hiking permits, and is known for high altitude and technical hazards that have led to previous fatal incidents.