York Fire In Mojave Desert Explodes To 120 Square Miles In Two Days; Crosses Into Nevada
A huge wildfire burning out of control in California’s Mojave national preserve is spreading rapidly amid erratic winds and high temperatures. The York Fire erupted on Friday near the remote Caruthers Canyon area of the wildland preserve. It crossed the state line into Nevada on Sunday and sent smoke further east into the Las Vegas Valley.
The fire is one of two major blazes burning in California as the region faces hot and dry weather. Firefighters said they had made progress battling the other blaze, the Bonny fire in Riverside county. The York Fire was mapped at roughly 120 sq miles (284 sq km) on Monday with no containment.
Back in the Mojave desert, wind-driven flames that reached as high as 20ft (6m) in some spots charred tens of thousands of acres of desert scrub, juniper and Joshua tree woodland. The fire had scorched 120 sq miles by Monday and was at zero containment.
Crews on Sunday battled fire whirls – sometimes also called fire tornados. The National Park Service described the phenomenon as a “spinning column of fire” that forms when intense heat and turbulent winds combine. “While these can be fascinating to observe they are a very dangerous natural phenomena that can occur during wildfires,” the park service wrote. “The dry fuel acts as a ready ignition source, and when paired with those weather conditions it resulted in long-distance fire run and high flames, leading to extreme fire behavior,” the update said.
EDIT
https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2023/jul/31/california-wildfire-mojave-york-fire
