The York Fire: Un-doing the Damage
On July 28, 2023 the York Fire began in the Mojave National Preserve, destroying the celebrated scenic beauty of Carruthers Canyon, located in the New York Mountains range. The fire raged 23 days, consuming habitat resources in a generally north eastern direction passing through the California Nevada border and licking the property lines of Equinox Gold Inc in the Castle Mountains Range. Fortunately, the SCBS SB66 Oro Belle and SB44 Kidney Springs big game guzzlers were spared. The fire claimed 93,078 acres, leaving a path of destruction in it’s wake which included a small guzzler system on a private inholding owned by a group of SCBS members. This guzzler, SB 43, had become important as the wildlife depended upon it’s placement to offset the increasingly seasonal nature of the above ground water flow in Carruthers Canyon. Thirty years ago, folks camped and frolicked in the waters in the New York Mountains canyon; today, visitors consider themselves lucky to be at the right place and time to see the water flowing. The wildlife needs this water system to thrive.
Property owner and SCBS Board Member Gary Thomas reported that the upright cylindrical tank on his Carruthers Canyon property had melted in the fire. The rain mat and basic plumbing still remained intact, owing somewhat to the fickle nature of the wildfire and it’s patchwork damage pattern. The SCBS Board began to receive appeals from the Membership to restore the wildlife water system before the expected “La Nina” weather pattern delivered an especially hot summer. Coupled by the fact that the York fire damages could have permanently altered the many natural springs in it’s path with erosion damage, the resultant aftermath has yet to be realized for years to come. Equinox Gold Inc was presented with a sponsorship request to purchase a Raincatcher tank to repair and upgrade SB 43 the wildlife system, and the request was graciously granted.
On June 1, 2024 SCBS volunteers arrived upon the project site after spending the night at the Goffs Schoolhouse and Museum property and tackled the arduous task of manually excavating the hole for the single Raincatcher with shovels and picks. Despite the wicked heat at Goffs, our project site was much higher in elevation and thus the temperature was much cooler – hallelujah! Thankfully, the soil was relatively soft and free from rocks; it had not yet dried out from the wet winter months and the pace of the digging was steady. A seemingly daunting task promised victory with each shovel full of dirt. It appeared that about 8 people at a time could stand in the hole and dig without crowding each other, so our modest team took turns until the custom fit hole was declared “ready” to receive the Raincatcher tank. We did not have the benefit of heavy equipment, so the tank was slid upon two rails directly from the trailer into the hole with an unceremonious “thud”. After that, the work sped up as the crew buried the tank and married it to the existing plumbing. Steve Marschke had brought a tote of water which was immediately added, essentially bringing this water system back on line. Later in the same afternoon, several participants who had been hauling water to the Kerr guzzler arrived to add additional gallons bringing the water level to approximately 1700 gallons. All volunteers enjoyed the satisfaction of a job well done and relaxed with food prepared by Gary Thomas, and fellowship. Congratulations to the crew: Marcel Abie, Marty Ambrose, Tony Cimarusti, Jim Fitzgerald, Steve Marschke, Debbie Miller Marschke, David M’Greene, Mike Morgan, Erich Stiener, Gary Thomas, Russ Woodruff. Kerr water squad: Scott Gibson, Darrin Buesking, Neal Darby, Monty Hammer. Special thanks to Equinox Gold Inc for granting funding the cost of the Raincatcher tank.
