Clark County Fire Fighting Crews Get Ready As Mojave Blaze Comes Our Way
You may notice the smoky, hazy skies over the Las Vegas valley recently. These conditions are due to a wildfire burning thousands of acres of dry brush and vegetation in the Mojave National Preserve.
Mojave National Preserve Fire Has Already Burned 70,000 Acres
Officials first became aware of the York Fire in the Mojave National Preserve on Friday. Since then, it has burned through 70,000 acres, and has now crossed into Nevada. At this point, Clark County firefighting crews standby to help protect residents who may be affected by this blaze. So far, as of 7 p.m. Sunday, there are no official evacuation orders in California or Nevada.
By and large, this desert landscape is usually very dry and does not have much vegetation. However, all those heavy rains in California this past winter and spring brought explosive growth of desert grasses. Subsequently, these desert grasses are now dry, and they become ample fuel for wildfire. That’s according to an article on LATimes.com by Taryn Luna and Louis Sahagún.
Clark County Firefighting Crews Stand Ready To Protect Nevada
Now that the York fire has crossed over into Nevada, Clark County firefighting crews prepare to battle this blaze. Weather conditions are making it very difficult to contain the Mojave National Preserve fire. In fact, it is 0% contained as of 7 p.m. Sunday. In reality, gusty winds are causing “fire whirls” or “fire tornadoes.” In short, per the LATimes.com article, these phenomena act as “spinning vortexes of flame and smoke.”
At this time, the Clark County Fire Department is setting up mobile command posts near the Searchlight and Nipton communities. According to an article by Shawna Khalafi on Fox5Vegas.com, officials say the fire is still many miles away from residential areas.
There are currently more than 200 personnel battling this blaze. These firefighters come from various agencies including the National Park Service, Bureau of Land Management, San Bernardino County Fire Protection District, and our own Clark County Fire Department.
Fireworks And Your Pets Safety On July 4th
Wear them out
Take your dog for a long walk before festivities begin to tire and calm them. Mental games mellow them out when fireworks start popping.
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Distract them
Redirect your pets attention by throwing their favorite ball so they associates noises with something positive, like playing.
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Let them be
If your dog runs and hides, don’t force them to get used to the sounds. It could aggravate them or incite aggressive behavior.
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FOR CATS: Build a base camp
You really already have a “panic room,” like your master bedroom with all your cat’s belongings, including cat condos, etc. – called scent soakers. Cats transfer their scents to the soakers, like fleece beds or rugs, that feel like “home.”
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Keep your kitty close
You wouldn’t dare let your cat outside during this time, so control the environment and don’t let them roam around the house. Turn on a low level of “hum,” like TV or news, to drown out the sounds outside.
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Block the door
Cats like small spaces, but they lose confidence when they make themselves smaller to “shrink” into an enclosed space because they’re scared, Offer alternative places to burrow like cat beds, cocoons or a blanket folded into a doughnut-like shape.
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Larry Martino is the long-time afternoon drive personality on 96.3 KKLZ. The views and opinions expressed in this blog are those of Larry Martino and not necessarily those of Beasley Media Group, LLC.
