A wildfire burned about 500 acres of isolated land a few miles west of Goodsprings on Wednesday but it was expected to be fully contained by the evening, fire officials said.
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No injuries were reported and no structures were threatened by the fire, said Beth Moore, a U.S. Forest Service spokeswoman.
She said the cause of the fire is still under investigation.
About 50 firefighters tackled the blaze and by noon on Wednesday had the fire about 60 percent contained.
In late June 2005, lightning sparked wildfires in the Goodsprings-Mountain Springs area near Red Rock Canyon, burning 33,600 acres southwest of Las Vegas. Herds of wild horses left the area and vegetation was destroyed.
A year later, the area has recovered from the fire in many ways, but a few reminders, such as scorched Joshua trees, still remain.
Several of the destroyed Joshua trees were more than 100 years old, said Christina Lund, botanist for Nevada's Bureau of Land Management. Lund said botanists are trying to replant the area, but Joshua trees grow slowly and can take up to 50 years to reach their adult height.