California fire expands, crossing state borders into Nevada 

A large wildfire in California is rapidly expanding and has crossed the state border into Nevada on Sunday afternoon, according to authorities. 

The York Fire began on Friday in the Mojave National Preserve, southeast of Interstate 15 and Mountain Pass. By Saturday, had expanded to 30,000 acres, according to the National Weather Service. The fire sent smoke to the Las Vegas Valley, causing the air quality index in the region to decline. 

The fire continued to grow and on Sunday it had expanded to 70,000 acres, crossing into Nevada, near the towns of Nipton and Searchlight, according to the Clark County Fire Department (CCFD). 

Although expanding rapidly, the fire is not yet close enough to residential areas for authorities to issue evacuation orders. Yet, the CCFD began to coordinate response and resources with partner agencies in case an evacuation is necessary, including a mobile command. Authorities closed several roads Sunday, including State Route 164, and Highway 95 in Nevada. 

The York Fire was a vegetation fire exacerbated by high winds and dry fuel in the area, which provided the conditions for the fire to expand rapidly, according to the San Bernardino County Fire Department.

“The dry fuel acts as a ready ignition source, and when paired with those weather conditions it resulted in long-distance fire run and high flames, leading to extreme fire behavior,” said an incident update. 

As of Sunday, the fire remains 0% contained. Fire crews and aircraft are responding to the threat by focusing on containment and suppression efforts.

At least 192 firefighters were battling the wildfire on Sunday afternoon. In some areas, the firefighters are seeing flames up to 20 feet (6 meters) high, indicating the severity of the fire, according to InciWeb.

“I would say it’s definitely fast-moving, especially when the winds come in and push it, it makes it extremely challenging conditions,” said Mojave National Preserve spokesperson Stephanie Bishop.