Weather conditions triggered red flag warnings in the northeast part of the United States as firefighters in California continued to battle a large wildfire that has burned over 20,000 acres.
Much of New York, New Jersey and Connecticut are under a red flag warning Tuesday due to dry and windy conditions. Massachusetts and Rhode Island are under the same warning, the National Weather Service in Boston said in a post on X.
The agency urged people to avoid outdoor burning and activities that may produce a spark and to use caution when disposing of igniters, such as cigarettes.
The warnings come as a historic drought continues to grip much of the Northeast. In New Jersey, three counties are suffering “extreme” drought and the rest of the state has severe or moderate drought conditions, according to the U.S. Drought Monitor at the University of Nebraska-Lincoln.
Crews in New Jersey and New York were continuing to battle a wildfire in Passaic and Orange counties. The inferno — dubbed the Jennings Creek Wildfire by the New Jersey Forest Fire Service — had grown to 3,500 acres and was 20% contained as of Tuesday morning.
Two residential structures in New Jersey were threatened by the fire, the agency said in an update just after 9 a.m. Tuesday. The cause of the fire remains under investigation.
New York Gov. Kathy Hochul said at a news conference Tuesday afternoon that there was a statewide “burn ban.”
“What that means is completely avoid outdoor burning, don’t leave any campfires … unattended, don’t have them, exercise extreme caution with outdoor grills and report fires immediately,” she said.
The fall has been historically dry, said Jackie Bray, Commissioner of the New York State Division of Homeland Security and Emergency Services. She told reporters that in an average year, about 1,400 acres are burned in New York.
The Jennings Creek fire has already burned about 2,700 in the state, said Bray, noting that it is “well above normal.”
Another fire in Passaic County, New Jersey, the Cannonball 3 Wildfire, was fully contained on Sunday, the state’s forest fire service said.
In Massachusetts, more than a dozen brush fires were burning, NBC Boston reported. Dave Celino, chief fire warden for the state Department of Conservation and Recreation, told the news station that for the month of November there have been 247 fires across the state with almost 700 acres burned.
“Some of them have grown, some of them have come out of containment because of the wind event,” Celino said.
Across the country in California, the Mountain Fire continues to burn in Ventura County. The blaze, which started on Nov. 6, has grown to 20,630 acres and is 48% contained, according to the California Department of Forestry and Fire Protection, or Cal Fire.
At least 200 structures have been destroyed and there have been six confirmed fire personnel and civilian injuries, Cal Fire said.
