Jim Eslinger, 66, speaks about how the York fire has affected his life in Nipton, California Monday, July 31, 2023.
Published Tuesday, Aug. 1, 2023 | 2 a.m.
Updated Tuesday, Aug. 1, 2023 | 8:26 a.m.
NIPTON, Calif. — At night, this tiny desert town just across the Nevada border is lit up by an orange glow in the distance.
The smoke is so thick that normal daily activities — things as simple as stepping outside to enjoy a cup of coffee — have been curtailed.
Nipton, with a population of about 20, sits on the northeast border of the Mojave National Preserve, where a wildfire has been burning since Friday.
The fire, sweeping across the desert floor amid scorching summer temperatures and howling winds, has grown to some 125 square miles. It is feasting on desert scrub, juniper and Joshua trees.
As of Tuesday, the York Fire was 23% contained. The cause of the blaze remains under investigation, though authorities said it started on private land within the preserve.
A brief but heavy downpour Tuesday helped firefighters battling the blaze, but meteorologists warned of the potential for sudden and erratic wind shifts that could endanger crews later on.
Jim Eslinger, 66, who has lived in Nipton for 14 years, said he’s never seen anything like this fire.
“Last night, it was really smoky. I couldn’t even turn on my swamp cooler because it was so smoky,” Eslinger said Monday morning. “Yesterday, it looked like (the fire) was contained … and then next thing you know, the wind picked up.”
Eslinger and his wife, who has chronic obstructive pulmonary disease, have watched the fire with trepidation. They wonder if they will be forced to evacuate.
In the past few days, because of the smoke, their morning coffee has had to be enjoyed indoors instead of on their porch like usual.
The fire crossed into Nevada on Sunday and sending smoke further east into the Las Vegas Valley.
A smoky haze blotted out the sun midday on the Las Vegas Strip and obliterated views of mountains surrounding the city and suburbs. Because of low visibility, Harry Reid International Airport reported departure delays of nearly two hours.
The Clark County Fire Department stationed a mobile command near the Nevada-California state line and is “preparing to go on the offensive to protect residential areas,” officials said.
There are no plans to issue evacuation orders for residential areas of Searchlight and Nipton, fire officials said Sunday evening. Searchlight, a community of 445 residents, is 50 miles southeast of Las Vegas.
Eslinger and some of the other townspeople already have a plan if the fire reaches the town. But for now, aside from the smoke pollution, they aren’t in immediate danger and are holding strong.
“Kind of like the song ‘Hotel California,’ I checked in and I cannot leave,” Eslinger said.
When the fire crossed the California-Nevada border Sunday, Searchlight residents were told to be on alert.
Wayne Mesenbrink, 61, who has lived in Searchlight for the past seven years, didn’t panic over the potential of an evacuation order.
Most of the town stayed put, and instead directed their efforts toward helping people closer to the blaze — like a family whose property sits near Walking Box Ranch where the fire burned.
For the majority of Sunday, as the threat of evacuation escalated, Mesenbrink said people were transporting the family’s horses, cattle and sheep to safer spots in Searchlight. They also prepared the local senior center as an evacuation site.
“Everybody stayed calm,” Mesenbrink said. “Other than helping the ranch, which took most of the day, everybody else hasn’t evacuated or been asked to.”
While they didn’t appear to be in immediate danger, the threat was looming.
The fire was so bad at Walking Box Ranch that it makes one’s eyes water, the brushing of dry bushes swaying against each other in the breeze could be heard, and charred bushes and the remains of black wood are spotted everywhere.
But, in some ways, it was a normal day in Searchlight.
The casino parking lots are still dotted with cars, but few people are strolling about the small town. Mesenbrink is back at Searchlight Treasures Thrift Store, where he works as a volunteer, and enjoys spending time with the shop’s cat, Midnight.
He senses the town avoided a tragedy.
Nipton Road, which was closed to traffic the day before, has reopened and preparations for the senior center were called off.
Mesenbrink said he doesn’t know what that means in terms of the York Fire, but he likes to think it’s a good sign.
“We’re lucky here,” Mesenbrink said of the Searchlight community. “We were more concerned, more for the Grandpa Road residents (on the way back to Vegas). There’s probably about 15-20 people who live up there … They’re closer than we are.”
The cause of the York Fire remains under investigation, though authorities say it started on private land within the preserve. Other details were not available Monday.
The Associated Press contributed to this report.
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