Progress made against massive YorkFire in Mojave Desert but flames threaten iconic Joshua trees
The York Fire that erupted last Friday is California's largest wildfire this year. As of Wednesday night it had burned through nearly 147 square miles of land and was 34% contained, fire officials said.
The 400 or so firefighters battling the blaze have had to balance their efforts with concerns about disrupting the fragile ecosystem in California's Mojave National Preserve. The fire started on private lands within the preserve, but the cause remains under investigation. Less than 3% of the land in the 2,500-square mile preserve is privately owned.
Some of the preserve's plants can take centuries to recover from destruction. The pinyon-juniper woodlands alone could take roughly 200 to 300 years to return, while the blackbrush scrub and Joshua trees - which grow only in the Mojave Desert - are unlikely to regrow after this catastrophic blaze, said Ileene Anderson, a senior scientist at the Center for Biological Diversity.
"You don't disturb any more soil than you absolutely have to; you don't cut trees unless they absolutely have to come down," said Chavez, speaking about the tactics in general.
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