By Nicole Hong and Hilary Howard
Firefighters in New Jersey and New York were actively working on Sunday to control the most recent of a series of wildfires in the region, where the initial forecasted rainfall in several weeks was thought to offer minimal aid to areas under drought conditions.
Fueled by gusty winds, the fire has consumed 3,000 acres across Passaic County, New Jersey, and Orange County, New York, located about an hour northwest of New York City. As of Sunday evening, containment was reported at only 10%, according to the New Jersey Forest Fire Service.
“We’re exhausting our personnel,” Bill Donnelly, chief of the Forest Fire Service, remarked during a news briefing on Sunday.
The unusually dry weather in New Jersey, combined with challenging terrain, has made extinguishing the wildfire particularly difficult, Donnelly noted, indicating that the fire was spreading above ground as well as through decaying root systems.
He mentioned that the anticipated rain would not be sufficient to extinguish the fire, which was first detected on Saturday after moving from a wooded area in New York state to a remote region near West Milford. However, firefighters expressed hopes of achieving containment by the end of the upcoming week.
An 18-year-old worker for the New York state parks system tragically died on Saturday while battling the fire. Dariel Vasquez was reportedly helping to clear a wooded section when a tree fell and struck him, officials stated.
Since early October, the New Jersey Forest Fire Service has addressed 537 wildfires in the state, a number approximately 500 higher than the same timeframe last year, according to Donnelly. Multiple fires have persisted since summer, he reported.
This fall, hundreds of fires have broken out across the region amid an exceptionally warm and dry season. A brush fire in Brooklyn’s Prospect Park on Friday night enveloped New York City in a smoky haze over the weekend, affecting the streets and infiltrating apartment buildings.
By Sunday morning, the air quality in the New York metropolitan area had seen improvement, as winds redirected the smoke from New Jersey’s wildfires further towards upstate New York instead of the city, according to the National Weather Service.
Nevertheless, an air quality advisory remained active for the New York City area as well as the lower and upper Hudson Valley — advising certain groups, including children and the elderly, to limit outdoor time or refrain from strenuous outdoor activities.
On Sunday evening, the region was anticipated to receive its first measurable rainfall since late September, based on weather service reports.
However, meteorologists indicated that only a quarter to half an inch of rain was expected by Monday morning, which would likely have a negligible effect on drought conditions. October marked the driest month in New York City history.
“That level of rainfall won’t substantially alter the situation, but given our dry spell, any amount will provide some benefit,” remarked David Stark, a meteorologist from the weather service.
New York City has entered its first drought watch in over two decades — a condition that could escalate to a warning or even an emergency if reservoir levels do not normalize. A drought emergency could prompt mandatory restrictions on water usage in the city.
City officials noted an unusually high occurrence of smaller brush fires, with 120 reported in a recent ten-day period.
Investigators are still probing the cause of the fire in Prospect Park, which scorched about 2 acres and was extinguished after three hours of firefighting efforts initiated after a bystander alerted authorities.
In central New Jersey, an individual was charged with arson on Friday after allegedly using illegal ammunition at a shooting range, which ignited a wildfire in Jackson Township. The fire, which began on Wednesday and took around two days to control, affected 350 acres and necessitated the evacuation of 15 homes, according to officials.
The National Park Service has previously indicated that nearly 85% of wildfires in the United States are attributed to human activities, including unattended campfires, discarded cigarettes, and intentional arson.
A recent study has revealed that the frequency and severity of extreme wildfires have more than doubled over the last twenty years, primarily due to a hotter and drier climate.
“Extreme weather has become the norm,” stated Zach Iscol, New York City’s commissioner of emergency management. “When individuals consider climate change, they often think about rising sea levels or devastating precipitation, but it manifests in various ways.”
On Saturday, New York Mayor Eric Adams announced a new prohibition on grilling within the city’s parks and called upon residents to voluntarily conserve water, including taking shorter showers, only flushing toilets when necessary, and repairing leaky taps.
In Connecticut, officials tackled 12 new fires this weekend, with the fire danger level assessed as “extreme” on Sunday, according to a representative from the state’s Department of Energy and Environmental Protection. Several state parks were closed due to the fires.
