On July 28, a wildfire started in southeastern California near the Caruthers Canyon and has since grown to more than 94,000 acres. Amid high temperatures and raging winds, the massive wildfire crossed the state line into Nevada on July 30, reaching the eastern region into the Las Vegas Valley.
Desert Plants Forever Gone
As the wildfire reaches the California-Nevada border, it has also devastated parts of the Mojave National Preserve, which contains diverse ecological habitats. It is home to hundreds of unique plant species, such as the famous Joshua tree, and significant habitat for the threatened desert tortoise.
The York fire is considered California's biggest fire of the year. To contain the wildfire, crews had to balance their firefighting actions with preserving the sensitive ecosystem. This means avoiding using heavy equipment, such as bulldozers, as they build fire lines.
According to Debra Hughson, the preserve's deputy superintendent, Joshua trees are not likely to regrow as the massive blaze has changed the fragile desert ecosystem. Like many desert plant species, Joshua trees struggle to recover from wildfires and can only survive if only the upper third part of the plant is burned.
There are nurse shrubs such as the blackbrush, which helps new Joshua trees sprout. However, a large area of these nurse plants has also been wiped out by the raging fire, reducing the chances for the Joshua tree to recover.
Officials from the Mojave National Preserve cannot precisely determine how much the Joshua tree forest has been burned. Hughson believes that it has resulted in a similar level of damage as that of the Dome Fire, which ignited the preserve in 2020 and burned almost 1.3 million Joshua trees.
Although it is hard to determine what plant species will grow back, previous wildfires provide a glimpse of what can be expected from the latest damaged area of the preserve. The area burned by the Dome Fire, which was once teeming with Joshua trees, has transformed into a grassier landscape. According to Hughson, a small number of Joshua trees resprout from unburned roots, but it will never be a juniper tree forest again.
What is a Joshua Tree?
Joshua tree (Yucca brevifolia) is a rare plant from a succulent family. Although they are not trees, they are considered trees of the desert due to their ability to thrive in dry ecosystems. It is named after the biblical character Joshua by 19th-century Mormon settlers who believed that the outstretched limbs of the tree guided their way as they traveled westward.
This plant usually has a single trunk and can grow from three to nine feet (0.9 to 2.7 meters) tall before producing branches. Each can grow up to 20 and 70 feet (6 and 21 meters) in height. Since they are slow-growing trees, they can live for an extended period at an average of 150 years.
Although they live in the desert landscape, Joshua trees require a dormant period of cold weather before flowering. Because of this, they are more vulnerable to climate change.
RELATED ARTICLE: People Cause U.S. Wildfire More Than Nature
Check out more news and information on Wildfire in Science Times.
