York Fire Explained

York Fire
Location:San Bernardino County, California & Clark County, Nevada
Coordinates:35.1919°N -115.3174°W
Pushpin Map:USA California
Pushpin Map Caption:The fire's location in southern California
Area:93078acres
Buildings:3
Cause:Undetermined

The York Fire was a large wildfire in the Mojave National Preserve in San Bernardino County, California, and in Clark County, Nevada. The fire burned 93078acres. The cause of the fire is undetermined.[1]

Background

The Mojave National Preserve saw increased fire frequency in the decade preceding the York Fire, with increasing numbers of invasive grasses in the Mojave and Colorado deserts. California's wet winter of 2022–2023 was another contributing factor, helping load the desert with brush that became fuel for the York Fire. The last major fire in the Preserve was the lightning-ignited Dome Fire in 2020, which burned 432730NaN0 and killed more than a million Joshua trees.[2] [3]

Progression

July

The fire began on July 28, 2023, on private land,[4] near the New York Mountains within the Mojave National Preserve in eastern San Bernardino County. It was first observed burning in the area of Caruthers Canyon.[5] By the morning of July 29, after burning actively in the night, the fire had burned a total of 4200acres.[6] Weather conditions were uncooperative for firefighters: breezes out of the south and southwest helped push the fire northeast, and occasional showers and thunderstorms nearby generated sudden and erratic winds. This enabled the fire's rapid spread northward: by the evening of July 29th, the fire was estimated to have burned approximately 30000acres, remaining at 0% containment.[7] [8]

The following morning, on July 29, the fire was mapped at more than 68000acres, becoming the largest wildfire of the year in the United States (surpassing the Newell Road Fire in Washington). At approximately 3:30p.m. on July 30, the fire burned across the Nevada state line into Clark County,[9] [10] burning an unknown number of acres within Avi Kwa Ame National Monument. Firefighting was complicated by restrictions on ecologically-damaging tactics, such as using bulldozers to scrape firebreaks.[11]

Effects

Closures

Closures were in place for multiple roads and campgrounds in the Preserve. Sections of State Route 164 and U.S. Route 95 in Nevada were temporarily closed because of hazardous driving conditions from the fire on July 30.[12] [13]

Damage

The York Fire destroyed 3 structures in Caruthers Canyon on July 28, including the Kousch House, an unoccupied dwelling owned by the National Park Service. The building was eligible for, but not listed on, the National Register of Historic Places.[14]

Notes and References

  1. Web site: 2023 - York Fire Information . September 5, 2023 . InciWeb . August 1, 2023 . https://web.archive.org/web/20230801042030/https://inciweb.nwcg.gov/incident-information/camnp-2023-york-fire . live .
  2. Web site: November 19, 2020 . Dome Fire – Mojave National Preserve (U.S. National Park Service) . 2022-08-16 . National Park Service . en . August 15, 2022 . https://web.archive.org/web/20220815140632/https://www.nps.gov/moja/learn/nature/dome-fire.htm . live .
  3. News: Luna . Taryn . Sahagún . Louis . 2023-07-31 . Wildfire burns at California-Nevada border, spawning fire tornadoes, torching desert landscape . Los Angeles Times . live . July 31, 2023 . https://web.archive.org/web/20230731164008/https://www.latimes.com/california/story/2023-07-31/york-fire-in-mojave-desert-grows-to-77000-acres . July 31, 2023.
  4. Web site: July 31, 2023 . York Fire Update - 7-31-23 @8:30am . live . https://web.archive.org/web/20230731165241/https://inciweb.nwcg.gov/incident-publication/camnp-2023-york-fire/york-fire-update-73123-830am . July 31, 2023 . July 31, 2023 . InciWeb.
  5. News: Luna . Taryn . July 30, 2023 . 70,000-acre California wildfire crosses into Nevada, is 0% contained . . deviated . July 31, 2023 . https://web.archive.org/web/20230731002509/https://www.latimes.com/california/story/2023-07-30/york-fire-california-nevada . July 31, 2023.
  6. Web site: July 29, 2023 . York Fire Update - 7-29-23 @9:50am . https://web.archive.org/web/20230731163629/https://inciweb.nwcg.gov/incident-publication/camnp-2023-york-fire/york-fire-update-72923-950am . July 31, 2023 . July 31, 2023 . InciWeb.
  7. Web site: July 29, 2023 . York Fire Update - 7-29-23 @4:26pm . live . https://web.archive.org/web/20230731164308/https://inciweb.nwcg.gov/incident-publication/camnp-2023-york-fire/york-fire-update-72923-426pm . July 31, 2023 . July 31, 2023 . InciWeb.
  8. Web site: July 29, 2023 . York Fire Update - 7-29-23 @9:45pm . live . https://web.archive.org/web/20230731164937/https://inciweb.nwcg.gov/incident-publication/camnp-2023-york-fire/york-fire-update-72923-945pm . July 31, 2023 . July 31, 2023 . InciWeb.
  9. Web site: July 30, 2023 . York Fire Update - 7-30-23 @3:30PM . July 31, 2023 . InciWeb . November 1, 2023 . https://web.archive.org/web/20231101182248/https://inciweb.nwcg.gov/incident-publication/camnp-2023-york-fire/york-fire-update-73023-330pm . live .
  10. Web site: York Fire . July 31, 2023 . Watch Duty . July 29, 2023 . https://web.archive.org/web/20230729023024/https://app.watchduty.org/i/8466 . live .
  11. News: O'Neil . Ty . Dazio . Stefanie . Yamat . Rio . August 1, 2023 . Preserving world famous Joshua Trees complicates fight to contain 80,000-acre York Fire . . August 1, 2023 . https://web.archive.org/web/20230802025516/https://www.ktnv.com/news/preserving-world-famous-joshua-trees-complicates-fight-to-contain-80-000-acre-york-fire . August 2, 2023.
  12. Web site: July 30, 2023 . Update: Wildfire Burning in Clark County, Road Closures Issued . July 31, 2023 . clarkcountynv.gov . July 30, 2023 . https://web.archive.org/web/20230730215929/https://www.clarkcountynv.gov/news_detail_T28_R919.php . dead .
  13. News: Staff . July 30, 2023 . California wildfire expands 70K acres, crosses over into Nevada . . July 31, 2023 . July 30, 2023 . https://web.archive.org/web/20230730210641/https://news3lv.com/news/local/california-wildfire-0-contained-smoky-skies-remain-in-las-vegas-valley . live .
  14. Web site: July 29, 2023 . York Fire Update - 7-29-23 @9:45pm . July 31, 2023 . InciWeb . July 31, 2023 . https://web.archive.org/web/20230731164937/https://inciweb.nwcg.gov/incident-publication/camnp-2023-york-fire/york-fire-update-72923-945pm . live .

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