Eureka Fire: Several roads closed in Joshua Tree National Park due to wildfire
A brush fire that broke out on Friday in Joshua Tree National Park has grown to over 200 acres, resulting in several road closures as firefighters work to contain the blaze over the weekend.
The Eureka Fire, reported around noon on Friday, is located 3 miles northeast of Eureka Peak in the Lower Covington Flats area. Firefighters had the 212-acre fire 40% contained as of Saturday morning, the park said in a news release.
Areas that are temporarily closed while firefighters work to contain the fire:
Lower Covington Flats Road and La Contenta within the park boundary;
Backcountry camping in the zones covering Black Rock, Covington, Quail Wash and Juniper, California Riding and Hiking Trail starting in Black Rock;
Creosote/Bigfoot Trail starting off Park Boulevard.
Several agencies are responding and worked overnight to manage the blaze, including the Bureau of Land Management, Cal Fire, U.S. Forest Service, and San Bernardino County Sheriff and Fire Protection. Firefighters contained a 4-acre slop over fire, which refers to a fire that crossed the containment line, in the morning, the park said.
The park said fresh crews will be working on containing the fire during the day, which will be warmer at nearly 86 degrees with 5 to 10 miles per hour south-southwest winds and gusts up to 20 mph. The equipment they'll be using include 11 engines, two water tenders two hand crews, and one helicopter.
Joshua Tree National Park said it does not know what caused the fire to break out and that it will be under investigation.
This is a developing story.
Ani Gasparyan covers the western Coachella Valley cities of Desert Hot Springs and Cathedral City. Reach her at ani.gasparyan@desertsun.com.
This article originally appeared on Palm Springs Desert Sun: Eureka Fire updates: Joshua Tree National Park road closures, size
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