LAS VEGAS (KTNV) — Firefighters have successfully contained up to 63% of the York Fire in the Mojave Desert, as of Thursday morning.
According to a recent update from the Bureau of Land Management, the fire is currently burning at 94,009 acres 9,127 of which are in Clark County.
As the monsoonal weather leaves the valley, firefighters initially expressed concerns about the warmer and dryer weather that would follow. However, containment levels have jumped nearly 30% since Wednesday night.
Fire crews are working to reinforce the existing containment lines using Minimal Impact Suppression Impacts, otherwise known as MIST. These techniques work to suppress wildfires while also carefully protecting resources such as cultural histories, threatened wildlife, and rare plants, which are commonly found in the Mojave Desert, Castle Mountains, and the Avi Kwa Ame National Monument.
BLM officials have also implemented the help of resource advisors such as wildlife biologists, plant ecologists, archeologists, and geologists.
An initial investigation by fire officials determined that the York Fire had initially started on "private property" in the New York Mountains in the Mojave Desert National Preserve.
Officials still have not issued evacuation orders for the valley, but Ivanpah Road between Star Mine and Cedar Canyon Roads is still closed, as well as all of Hart Mine. Additionally, the Mojave Desert National Preserve is under "extreme fire restrictions."
