Crews balance firefighting and protecting a fragile ecosystem in containing California Nevada blaze

 By Ty O’neil, Stefanie Dazio And Rio Yamat THE ASSOCIATED PRESS MOJAVE NATIONAL PRESERVE, Calif. (AP)- Firefighters battling a massive blaze in California’s Mojave National Preserve on Tuesday faced the difficult task of stopping the fire without bulldozers and other heavy equipment that could damage the region’s famous Joshua trees and other sensitive plants. Crews are using a “light hand on the land” approach to fight the York Fire, California’s largest wildfire so far this year. The goal is to reduce the impact of firefighting on the federally-protected landscape. “You bring a bunch of bulldozers in there, you may or may not stop the fire, but you’ll put a scar on the landscape that’ll last generations,” said Tim Chavez, an assistant chief for the California Department of Forestry and Fire…

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