Wind gusts and low humidity are helping to fuel wildfires burning across the Northeast, with cities in the region on high alert Saturday.
Red flag warnings — which indicate an increased risk of fire danger due to warm temperatures, very low humidity, and stronger winds — had been in effect for some Northeastern cities through Saturday afternoon.
A number of cities in Connecticut, Massachusetts and Rhode Island will be under a red flag warning between 9 a.m. and 6 p.m. Sunday, according to the National Weather Service.
Vegetation in the area remains very dry. The region is about 6 to 8 inches behind on rainfall since Sept. 1. A cold front is expected to pass through the region Sunday, bringing up to 1 inch of rain.
A brush fire in Brooklyn’s Prospect Park burned overnight Friday into Saturday after about 2 acres of dry vegetation ignited during heavy wind gusts, the New York City Fire Department said on X. Firefighters worked overnight to extinguish the fire.
“This has been a historically dry time for New York City and more than 100 brush fires have occurred this month alone,” the FDNY said.
In Pennsylvania, firefighters are working to control a fire that erupted in Berks County due to dry and windy conditions. The fire started at around 11:30 p.m. Friday on Neversink Mountain in Reading, where smoke could be seen rising from the blaze.
The fire resulted in the evacuation of nearby residents to Amanda E. Stout Elementary School, according to Reading Mayor Eddie Morán.
“The Pennsylvania Department of Conservation and Natural Resources (DCNR) Forestry division will lead the firefighting and mop-up operation, which is expected to continue for several days, coordinating any additional resources required,” Morán said.
Two fires are burning in Passaic County, New Jersey: the Cannonball 3 Wildfire in Pompton Lakes and the Jennings Creek Wildfire in West Milford, the latter of which is also burning in part of Orange County, New York.
The 175-acre Cannonball 3 Wildfire is 75% contained, according to the New Jersey Forest Fire Service. Fifty-five structures are threatened by the fire, and its cause is under investigation.
The fire is on private property that belongs to chemical company DuPont, New Jersey Forest Fire Service Chief Bill Donnelly said at a Saturday news conference.
Officials were first notified of the blaze around 3 p.m. Friday and “over time it started to grow with all the wind,” Mayor Mike Serra said at the news conference.
A representative for DuPont did not immediately respond to an emailed request for comment Saturday night.
The Jennings Creek Wildfire, which Donnelly said firefighters first spotted Friday as it was pushing toward New York, has already burned 2,000 acres and is threatening 10 structures. It is 0% contained.
Donnelly said the winds changed overnight, pushing the blaze back over the border to New Jersey. Two helicopters and 33 firefighters are working to put the fire out, he said.
The fire is the biggest so far this year, Donnelly said, and it is not clear how it started.
Several local agencies confirmed a person died while battling the fire.
The Plattekill Fire Department said the person was a state forest ranger who died while fighting the blaze in Greenwood Lake, New York, Saturday.
A tree fell on the ranger, killing him, the Eastern Dutchess County Fire and Rescue said. It did not identify him.
“Rip brother your shift is over job well done,” the Eastern Dutchess County officials said.
The New Jersey Forest Fire Service responded to more than 400 fires last month and about 40 fire calls Friday and Saturday, Donnelly said, noting that some are still burning while others have been contained.
Donnelly said that around the same time last year, the department responded to 27 fires that burned a total of only eight acres over a two-week period. But in the last month, he said, they have responded to over 400 fires covering more than 800 acres, a consequence of the dry conditions.
Another 39-acre wildfire burning in Bergen County is 75% contained, according to the state fire service.
One of the biggest issues for New Jersey firefighters is the “re-burn factor,” Donnelly said, pointing out that some fires that started in July are burning once again.
The active wildfires prompted air quality alerts in both New Jersey and New York, with residents discouraged from practicing strenuous outdoor activities.
On the West Coast, the Mountain Fire continues to burn in Ventura County, California, and has spread across more than 20,600 acres, according to the California Department of Forestry and Fire Protection (Cal Fire). The fire was 21% contained as of 5:29 p.m. PT. Its cause is under investigation.
Air quality alerts are in effect throughout Southern California due to wildfire smoke.
