Wildfire in Mojave Desert causes traffic delays, smoky skies in Las Vegas valley

LAS VEGAS (KTNV) — A wildfire burning in the Mojave National Preserve caused traffic delays and filled the Las Vegas sky with smoke on Saturday.

According to the National Weather Service Las Vegas, the fire — dubbed “The York Fire” — is estimated to be about 4,200 acres in size, as of Saturday afternoon. The fire has burned about 30,000 acres and is currently moving in a northern direction, according to InciWeb, a wildfire tracker from the United States Forest Service.

The fire is also currently at 0% containment, though no closures or evacuations have been reported yet.

“The Fire management team is employing a well-coordinated approach to combat the fire in brush and timber,” Forest Service officials said in a statement. However, NWS officials say the fire will “likely continue sending smoke into the area through Sunday.”

Earlier in the morning, a brush fire also temporarily shut down traffic headed across the Nevada-California state line due to poor visibility from the smoke. The traffic was later reopened to two travel lanes, which also caused major delays.

Meteorologists say the air quality in the Las Vegas valley is “moderate,” which means that pollution in the area can pose “moderate” health risks to certain individuals.