Loss of ancient trees: California faces its worst wildfire of the year

A raging wildfire has ripped through California’s Mojave Desert, leaving a trail of destruction in its wake.

According to the National Park Service, this is the worst fire to break out in the Mojave National Preserve on record. As of Wednesday evening, August 2, the fire had burned over 32,000 acres, including parts of Caruthers Canyon, known for its rich ecosystem.

One of the biggest concerns is the impact on the forests of joshua trees, which provide identity to the landscape of the Reserve. These specimens, which grow one to two centimeters per year and can reach heights of up to 13 meters, are important cultural symbols in the art, music, and spiritual practices of the Serrano, Chemehuevi, and Mojave Indian peoples of the American Southeast. . According to the National Park Service, when an area with Joshua trees burns, most will not survive and reproduction becomes more difficult.

Some possible causes of the fire point to unusual rains last winter that caused the spread of grasses that, drying up in the spring, increased the likelihood of wildfires this summer, according to the US Forest Service. These conditions coupled with the powerful winds from this season’s rainstorms could also have caused the fire to “spread more rapidly and unpredictably,” according to members of the Mojave National Park Service.

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