In der südkalifornischen Mojave-Wüste kämpfen weiter mehr als 400 Helfer gegen ein Feuer an. Der am Freitag ausgebrochene Brand in dem Schutzgebiet Mojave National Preserve mit seinen berühmten Joshua-Bäumen sei jetzt zu 30 Prozent eingedämmt, teilt die Parkverwaltung mit.

Regenschauer hätten Abhilfe gebracht, doch der Einsatz in dem zerklüfteten und abgeschiedenen Gebiet sei weiterhin schwierig, hieß es. Die Flammen haben sich auf einer Fläche von über 330 Quadratkilometern ausgebreitet.

Umweltschützer und Behörden befürchten schwere Schäden für die Vegetation, vor allem für die Joshua-Bäume in der betroffenen Wüstenregion im Südosten Kaliforniens. Cody Hanford, Vorsitzender der Schutzorganisation «Mojave Desert Land Trust», rechnet mit hohen Verlusten und einem «sehr langsamen Erholungsprozess».

The York fire, California’s largest of 2023, ignited on Friday in the Mojave National Preserve and had burned through 82,000 acres by Wednesday morning, officials said.

The blaze is creating dramatic “fire whirls” that are burning through groves of Joshua trees, the spiky plants that only grow in the US southwest and northern Mexico.

The York fire has already destroyed an unknown number of Joshua trees in the Mojave National Preserve, and was on the verge of causing catastrophic damage.

“We’re looking at sad outcomes for potentially millions of Joshua trees,” Mojave Desert Land Trust Cody Hanford told CNN.

Lands were acquired in the preserve by the trust due to their significant habitat value, and with the intention of conveyance to the National Park Service at a future date, the nonprofit said.

One of Mojave Desert Land Trust's properties within the burn zone is in the Gotto Hills, at the heart of the preserve’s Lanfair Valley. The group said the parcel sweeps across 160 acres, reaching an elevation of 4,427 feet.

Another 17-acre parcel rises above a wash, its hillsides dotted with Joshua, juniper, and pinyon trees. The natural ore deposits once made it attractive for mining.

The Mojave National Preserve is a significant hotspot for biodiversity, with one conservationist calling it the “crown jewel” of the deserts of Southern California. Joshua trees only gcrow in the Desert Southwest and far northwestern Mexico, and one of the densest Joshua tree forests is within the burn area, Cody Hanford, executive director of the Mojave Desert Land Trust, told CNN.

“We’re looking at sad outcomes for potentially millions of Joshua trees,” Hanford said. “The fire is dramatically affecting the vegetation landscape.”

In Southern California, a massive wildfire is burning through the Mojave Desert Preserve — threatening endangered Joshua trees. The cause of the York Fire is under investigation.

MDLT Joint Executive Director Cody Hanford spoke to NPR’s Caleigh Wells about how climate change is impacting species in protected areas such as Mojave National Preserve where the York Fire has burned over 80,000 acres. MDLT owns over 560 areas within the York Fire burn zone and has protected 28,000 acres of the Preserve since 2006.

When Corina Godoy, a native-plant specialist with the Mojave Desert Land Trust, invited me on a hike into the desert near Joshua Tree, I said yes. That’s me being more open. Cultivating curiosity. Yes, yes, yes. Plus, another superbloom.

From a trailhead south of town, we headed up a dusty wash. It quickly became apparent that superbloom is a relative term. We did not arrive at dense carpets of orange poppies. We did walk among Joshua trees, their branch tips sprouting light-green buds. And there were plenty of flowers, their colors extravagant against the sandy-hued hillsides: yellow tickseed, desert golden poppies, pink wild hyacinth.