To UNITED STATESthe flames are currently ravaging part of the California and Nevada. A standard fire is indeed underway in the Mojave Desert. It caused “fire tornadoes” this weekend in this region straddling the two states, where many Joshua trees grow, according to US authorities.
The ‘York Fire’ broke out on Friday and now covers more than 300 square kilometres, yet to be contained at all, despite the efforts of more than 250 firefighters, according to a bulletin from the Bureau of Land Management (BLM ), a federal agency in charge of the area.
Columns of unpredictable flames
“Windy weather has a significant impact on the behavior of fire,” the agency points out. “In some places, firefighters on the north side of the fire observed fire tornadoes. Unpredictable, these columns of swirling flames are extremely dangerous for firefighters. They can “spread embers over long distances and start new fires at the front of the main front”, recalls the BLM. The blaze spread to Nevada on Sunday, with flames sometimes rising up to six meters high, but has not prompted any evacuations so far.
This fire is a disaster for the Mojave Desert, a protected area known for its biodiversity in the United States. In addition to the turtles, foxes and lynxes that roam this territory, this national park is also home to many Joshua trees, a species so emblematic of the American West that the rock group U2 planted it on the cover of their album. Joshua Tree.
A fire in the middle of a heat wave
These trees and their thorn-topped branches are now threatened by the global warming. In June, the California parliament passed a law to protect them, in particular by creating a fund dedicated to their protection. In 2020, another fire, the “Dome Fire”, killed 1.3 million of these trees in California.
The extreme temperatures prevailing in the desert currently make the task of firefighters particularly difficult, underlines the BLM. The origin of the “York Fire” remains unknown for the moment. However, the fire started in the middle of a heat wave, which is currently affecting the American Southwest. In Nevada, Las Vegas had one of its hottest Julys on record. In neighboring Arizona, the city of Phoenix just suffered more than 31 days in a row where the mercury exceeded 43.3°C (110° Fahrenheit).
2023-08-01 07:26:34
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