York Fire nearly two-thirds contained; authorities prep for dry weather
Firefighters had contained nearly two-thirds of the wildfire burning in the desert south of Las Vegas on Thursday.
The most accurate mapping of York Fire to date has put the blaze at a slightly smaller size than it was on Thursday morning and Wednesday night, when the fire was just over 94,000 acres, or 147 square miles, according to a spokesperson for the incident management team overseeing the fire response.
By Thursday night, U.S. Forest Service spokesperson Marc Peebles said the fire was 93,084 acres, or about 145 square miles.
The blaze was 65 percent contained on Thursday night, Peebles said, up from the 63 percent containment earlier Thursday and the 34 percent Wednesday night.
Peebles said the expectation was that the fire would be fully contained by Aug. 14. But he said that with fire, anything could happen and that could change.
Monsoonal rain aided firefighters in battling the flames Tuesday and Wednesday, according to the U.S. Forest Service and National Weather Service. But hotter, drier conditions returned Thursday.
“They had a few little pockets of heat that kind of popped up a bit,” Peebles said. “You get the increased temperatures and low humidities, and so you’ll get pockets of heat and some small flareups, and that’s why we’re being vigilant.”
The fire started around noon July 28 in the Mojave National Preserve, and by Saturday it was 30,000 acres, or 46 square miles. On Sundaym it crossed over the California state line into Clark County and was burning in the Avi Kwa Ame National Monument.
According to a map of the blaze posted on the federal government’s fire-tracking InciWeb site, the northern tip of the fire was roughly 40 miles south of the southern edge of the Las Vegas metro area. It posed no threat to Las Vegas, Peebles said this week.
The cause remained under investigation.
In a statement Thursday morning, firefighters said they were working to protect the wildlife, plants and cultural history in the area.
Authorities noted that more than 400 people were assigned to the fire.
Dry conditions were expected through the weekend, according to the weather service. Officials expected that the wind would move any further flames to the northeast.
Contact Sabrina Schnur at sschnur@reviewjournal.com or 702-383-0278. Follow @sabrina_schnur on Twitter. Contact Brett Clarkson at bclarkson@reviewjournal.com.
