SYRACUSE, N.Y. (NCC News) – The risk for damaging and dangerous brush fires is still in place for much of the Northeast, from New York through much of New England. It is all thanks to droughts which have created extremely dry conditions in several states.
Firefighters in the New York City metro area have been working over the past several days to put out fires in densely populated areas throughout downstate New York and New Jersey, according to the Associated Press. The risk has prompted the New York City Fire Department to launch its first ever brush fire task force due to an increase of fires throughout the five broughs, home to over eight million people.
“Due to a significant lack of rainfall, the threat of fast-spreading brush fires fueled 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.
The fire risk is not only limited to New York City. The entire commonwealth of Massachusetts is now under a red flag warning, which is issued by the National Weather Service. Parts of Connecticut, New Hampshire, and Rhode Island are also under warnings. Conditions are even drier through parts of southwestern Pennsylvania and West Virginia, according to the National Weather Service.
The recipe for these fires is dry conditions mixed with high winds. With dead leaves blanketing the ground, something as small as a hot cigarette could set off acres of land. Burn bans are in effect across the Northeast, including here in Central New York.
Some much needed relief could come Wednesday night into Thursday, with anywhere from 0.5″ to 1.5″ of rain expected through New York City and up into New England, according to the National Weather Service.