Rain was falling across the Northeast on Sunday afternoon, bringing a much-needed assist to firefighters battling a major wildfire straddling the border of New Jersey and New York.
But the blaze evaded their control and grew to more than 2,500 acres on Sunday, threatening several structures — including a historic site dating back to the Revolutionary War, officials said.
While Saturday marked 42 days without any measurable rainfall in the city of Philadelphia, and the driest streak in New York City history, many cities throughout the Northeast were expecting to see measurable rainfall on Sunday.
The forecast was welcome news to fire crews battling the so-called Jennings Creek Fire that broke out Saturday and burned wildland throughout West Milford in New Jersey’s Passaic County and Orange County, New York.
But the flames remained 0% contained on Sunday afternoon, Chief Bill Donnelly of the New Jersey Forest Fire Service said at a news conference.
And although more rainfall was yet to come, he didn’t seem optimistic that it would change the outcome.
“Make no mistake, though precipitation is forecasted, that’s not going to solve the problem that we have here with this wildfire,” Donnelly said. “It’s inevitable that this fire is going to continue to burn up until it reaches our control line.”
Donnelly estimated that it might take crews until the end of this week to extinguish the blaze.
Since Oct. 1, New Jersey firefighters have responded to 537 wildfires that have consumed 4,500 acres, including about 40 fires that ignited between Friday and Saturday, according to Donnelly.
Forest Ranger Jeremy Oldroyd, of the New York State Department of Environmental Conservation, said New York fire crews have battled 60 wildfires since Oct. 1, and they have burned 2,100 acres.
A New York State Parks and Recreation aid was killed on Saturday helping the battle the Jennings Creek Fire, which is burning in the Sterling Forest State Park, officials said. The deceased parks employee was identified Sunday by the New York State Police as 18-year-old Dariel Vasquez.
“I commend his dedication to serving and protecting his fellow New Yorkers and his bravery on the front lines,” New York Gov. Kathy Hochul said of Vasquez. “My prayers go out to his family, friends and coworkers during this difficult time.”
The rain heading into the Northeast is associated with what was left of a storm system that has been sweeping east this weekend after hitting parts of the Rockies with very heavy snow and the South with torrential rain.
While the rain is expected to put a dent in the extremely dry conditions, some areas in New York, New Jersey, Connecticut, Massachusetts and Rhode Island will remain under red flag fire danger warnings, officials said.
As the Jennings Creek Fire continued to grow Sunday, Donnelly said the fire was threatening several structures in the area, including eight in New Jersey’s Long Pond Ironworks State Park, a historic 175-acre village where iron was produced during the Revolutionary War.
The cause of the fire remains under investigation.
The fire came amid blustery winds and drought conditions in New York and New Jersey, which hasn’t had any rain in more than a month, officials said.
At one point over the weekend, New Jersey firefighters were battling at least six brush fires that ignited across the state, including a second wildfire in Passaic County that was threatening structures Sunday.
The “Cannonball 3” fire began on Friday afternoon near Passaic County’s Pompton Lake and grew to 175 acres, according to Donnelly. As of Sunday afternoon, the fire was still threatening 55 structures, but was 75% contained, according to the fire service.
Another wildfire in New Jersey — the “Shotgun Fire” — started Wednesday and burned 350 acres of the Colliers Mills Wildlife Management Area in Jackson Township before firefighters gained control of the blaze, officials said. Officials said the cause of the fire was arson.
The Shotgun Fire had broke out around noon on Wednesday, near the Central Jersey Rifle Range on Stump Tavern Road, fire officials said.
Investigators concluded that the fire began behind a berm at the rifle club and was caused by magnesium shards of a “Dragon’s Breath” 12-gauge shotgun round, which ignited materials on the berm. Firing incendiary or tracer ammunition is illegal in New Jersey, authorities said.
Richard Shashaty, 37, of Brick Township, surrendered to the police on Saturday. He was charged with arson and violation of regulatory provisions relating to firearms, officials said Saturday.
Air quality alerts remained in effect Sunday in the New York City area. As of Sunday morning, New York City’s Office of Emergency Management said the Air Quality Index was at 105, a level “unhealthy for sensitive groups.” On Saturday evening, the AQI in some monitors reached 201, indicating “very unhealthy” air quality, officials said.
Several brush fires have erupted in New York City in recent days, including one on Friday evening that swept through Brooklyn’s Prospect Park, burning at least two acres before more than 120 firefighters brought it under control Saturday morning.
New York City Mayor Eric Adams said Saturday that at least 120 brush fires had broken out in the city within the last two weeks. The fires follow the driest October in New York City history.
Meanwhile, firefighters in Southern California continued to battle the Mountain Fire in Ventura County. As of Sunday, the blaze, which started on Wednesday morning and was fanned by strong Santa Ana winds, had grown to 20,640 acres.
The California Department of Forestry and Fire Protection said Sunday that winds had died down overnight, enabling fire crews to make significant progress by upping containment lines to 26%.
