Public access to the Covington Flats area is closed from Friday, June 30, 2023, through Wednesday, July 5, 2023.
During the spring of 2023, Joshua Tree National Park received above average precipitation. The rain caused an abundance of grass to grow, which is now dried, making a continuous bed of flashy fuels. The national weather service has issued high heat warnings for the area, and fire meteorologists at Southern California Geographic Coordination Center has stated that expected fire indicators will be the highest they have been this season. Expected conditions present an extreme fire danger.
Two weeks ago, the Geology Fire burned over 1000 acres of the park in just a few hours. This was under conditions that were much more tepid than are expected in the coming days. The Covington Flats area contains most of the important Joshua tree populations within the park and will remain closed to the public until Wednesday, July 5th.
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