Wildfire threat in place for much of US Northeast as dry conditions persist

Firefighters in New York said on Sunday that a successful voluntary evacuation overnight helped them protect about 165 homes from a wildfire near the New Jersey border.

However, New York City's fire department has taken the first-of-its-kind step of creating a brush fire task force to respond to what officials are calling a historic increase in brush fires occurring throughout the five boroughs, the FDNY commissioner announced. From November 1 to November 14, the FDNY responded to 271 brush fires across the city, marking the highest two-week period in New York's history.

"Due to a significant lack of rainfall, the threat of fast-spreading brush fires fuelled by dry vegetation and windy conditions have resulted in an historic increase of brush fires throughout New York City," Commissioner Robert S Tucker said in a statement.

 

Windy conditions renewed a wildfire on Saturday that escaped a containment line and prompted emergency officials to enact a voluntary evacuation plan for a community near the border. 

The evacuation enacted out of "an abundance of caution" impacted about 165 houses in Warwick, New York, as firefighters continued working to tame the Jennings Creek blaze, New York Parks Department spokesman Jeff Wernick said in an email on Saturday night.

Firefighters' efforts were successful and no structures were in danger as of early Sunday afternoon, Wernick said in a later email. The voluntary evacuation will remain in place at least until Monday, allowing firefighters to continue their work.

The evacuation came as communities in the Northeast and around the country dealt with a surge in late fall fires.

New England states were under red flag alerts for wildfires this weekend. The National Interagency Fire Center said fires in California, North Carolina and West Virginia were also concerning.

The New York City task force will be made up of fire marshals, fire inspectors, and tactical drone units in an effort to ensure rapid responses to brush fires and to help with investigations to determine their cause.

On Friday, the wildfire was 90 per cent contained on the Passaic County, New Jersey, side of the border, and about 70 per cent contained in Orange County, New York, officials said. New York increased the state's percentage to 88 per cent on Sunday morning.

The wildfire had burned 19.4 square kilometres across the two states as of Friday. On Saturday, Wernick said New York Army National Guard helicopters dropped 79,493 litres of water and a New York State Police helicopter dropped nearly 3,406 litres.

The fire was burning primarily in Sterling Forest State Park, where the visitor centre, the lakefront area at Greenwood Lake and historic furnace area remained open but woodland activities including hunting were halted, Wernick said.

The blaze claimed the life of an 18-year-old New York parks employee who died when a tree fell on him as he helped fight the fire in Sterling Forest on November 9. The fire's cause remains under investigation.

In Massachusetts, which typically has about 15 wildland fires every October, there were about 200 this year. State officials said they were expected to continue because of weather conditions and dry surface fuels.

The National Weather Service in Boston warned on Sunday that elevated fire risk continued across southern New England, given the continued gusty winds and dry conditions. Much-needed rain was predicted for Thursday in the region.

Southern New Hampshire was also at risk for fires due to dry conditions and the fire danger risk was "very high", state officials said.

The Maine Forest Service said the southern part of the state also faced high fire danger conditions. Most of the state was abnormally dry or facing moderate drought conditions.

Some relief could be in sight in New York. The National Weather Service in Albany, New York, said Sunday that most of the region could see a "widespread soaking rain" of 0.5 to 1.5 inches beginning Wednesday night.