Fire ‘whirls’ spawned by out of control blaze threaten California’s iconic Joshua trees

Bevan Hurley
·2 min read
1
Fire ‘whirls’ spawned by out of control blaze threaten California’s iconic Joshua trees

A vast wildfire burning out of control through the desert in California and Nevada is threatening to destroy “millions” of the region’s famous Joshua trees, officials say.

The York fire, California’s largest of 2023, ignited on Friday in the Mojave National Preserve and had burned through 82,000 acres by Wednesday morning, officials said.

The blaze is creating dramatic “fire whirls” that are burning through groves of Joshua trees, the spiky plants that only grow in the US southwest and northern Mexico.

The York fire has already destroyed an unknown number of Joshua trees in the Mojave National Preserve, and was on the verge of causing catastrophic damage.

“We’re looking at sad outcomes for potentially millions of Joshua trees,” Mojave Desert Land Trust Cody Hanford told CNN.

“The fire is dramatically affecting the vegetation landscape.”

Aerial and ground surveys are being conducted to determine the extent of the destruction to plant and wildlife, a spokesperson for the preserve says.

Laura Cunningham, the California director of The Western Watershed Project, told KVVU it would “take a lifetime to get those mature Joshua trees back”.

Fires burning in the Mojave National Park are threatening its famous Joshua trees (ALL RIGHTS)
Fires burning in the Mojave National Park are threatening its famous Joshua trees (ALL RIGHTS)

“Some are fire resistant, and if the flames are not too hot they will stump sprout out or reseed.”

Joshua trees are protected in California, but are not listed under the Federal Endangered Species Act.

The fire spread quickly from the Mojave National Preserve across the Nevada border on Friday, with the extreme temperatures creating dramatic “fire whirls” that stretched up to 20 feet (6m) tall.

Burned landscape with Joshua Trees damaged from the York Fire in the Mojave National Preserve on Tuesday. (ASSOCIATED PRESS)
Burned landscape with Joshua Trees damaged from the York Fire in the Mojave National Preserve on Tuesday. (ASSOCIATED PRESS)

There was a brief respite overnight on Tuesday, when unseasonal rains helped to tamp down the flames.

Just 30 per cent of the York fire had been contained by Wednesday morning.

Firefighters tackling the blaze in rugged and remote terrain face the additional challenge of trying to battle the fire without destroying more of the iconic trees.

Crews are opting to forego bulldozers and other heavy equipment in a “light hand on the land” approach to avoid further damage to the Joshua trees, Tim Chavez, from the California Department of Forestry and Fire Protection, told the Associated Press.