A method for managing block erase operations is provided for an array of memory cells including erasable blocks of memory cells in the array. The method comprises maintaining status data for a plurality of sub-blocks of the erasable blocks of the array. The status data indicate whether the sub-blocks are currently accessible and whether the sub-blocks are invalid. The method comprises, in response to a request to erase a selected sub-block of a particular erasable block, issuing an erase command to erase the particular block if the other sub-blocks of the particular erasable block are invalid, else updating the status data to indicate that the selected sub-block is invalid.