Dome Fire (2020)

This article is about the 2020 Dome Fire in California. For information about the 1996 Dome Fire in New Mexico, see Dome Fire.
Dome Fire
Part of the August 2020 California lightning siege
A white BLM vehicle stands guard in the road as tall orange flames burn on both sides behind it among scrub and Joshua Trees
The Dome Fire burning across Cima Road in Mojave National Preserve on August 16
Date(s)
  • August 15 (15-08) –
  • August 24, 2020 (2020-08-24)
  • (10 days)
Location
Coordinates35°18′04″N 115°35′53″W / 35.301°N 115.598°W / 35.301; -115.598
Statistics
Burned area43,273 acres (17,512 ha; 68 sq mi; 175 km2)
Impacts
Structures destroyed6
Damage
  • $2.2 million
  • (equivalent to about $2.6 million in 2023)
Ignition
CauseLightning
Map
Refer to caption
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The location of the Dome Fire in Southern California
Map
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150km
100miles
Dome Fire
Dome Fire
The location of the fire south of Interstate 15

The 2020 Dome Fire was a large and ecologically destructive wildfire in the Mojave National Preserve in California's San Bernardino County. Caused by a lightning strike on August 15, the fire began near Cima Dome (a geological formation for which the fire was named) and exhibited rapid growth over the following 36 hours, aided by weather conditions and a lack of available firefighting resources. During this period the Dome Fire destroyed only 6 structures, but burned more than a quarter of the Cima Dome Joshua tree forest, one of the largest and densest populations of Joshua trees known in the world. The fire killed as many as 1.3 million Joshua trees. No injuries or fatalities were reported among firefighters or civilians. The fire cost $2.2 million to suppress, and burned 43,273 acres (17,512 ha) before being fully contained on August 24.[1][2]

The Dome Fire was one of the many large wildfires of the 2020 California wildfire season, which was notable for its severity. The Dome Fire burned at the same time as other wildfires in the state considered a higher priority, such as the Lake Fire elsewhere in Southern California and the LNU, SCU, CZU, and August Complex fires, which contributed to the lack of fire suppression resources available to the Dome Fire effort.[3]

The mass Joshua tree destruction resulting from the Dome Fire has led to concern about the future of the species, which is predicted to face declines in its range due to development and climate change, with its increasing wildfire risk. Wildfires are not unknown in the region; the 2005 Hackberry Complex, also sparked by lightning, burned more than 70,000 acres in the Mojave National Preserve southwest of the Dome Fire footprint. However, fire is not an integral or frequent part of the fragile desert ecosystem, as it is in some other California ecosystems (such as chaparral and coniferous forests), and species like the Joshua tree do not have adaptations to readily protect or recover from wildfires. Therefore, the ecological ramifications of the Dome Fire are expected to be long-lasting, if not permanent.[4]

  1. ^ "Dome Fire Information". InciWeb – Incident Information System. Archived from the original on September 17, 2020. Retrieved August 18, 2022.
  2. ^ "Incident Management Situation Report" (PDF). National Interagency Coordination Center. August 25, 2020. Archived from the original on August 26, 2020. Retrieved August 18, 2022.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: unfit URL (link)
  3. ^ Cite error: The named reference :1 was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
  4. ^ Cite error: The named reference :7 was invoked but never defined (see the help page).