Unseasonably dry conditions coupled with high winds put 27 million residents from New Jersey to Boston under fire alerts Saturday.
With wind gusts up to 35 mph, relative humidity hovering around 25%, and an arid fall that is 6 to 8 inches behind its average rainfall, the region is desperate for relief.
On Friday, the New York Fire Department responded to calls of a brush fire in Prospect Park. Ultimately, it took the NYFD over three hours to subdue the blaze, which burned over 2 acres of dry vegetation.
"This has been a historically dry time for New York City and more than 100 brush fires have occurred this month alone," the FDNY posted on X.
In Pennsylvania, a fire that erupted in Berks Country on Neversink Mountain prompted the evacuation of a nearby elementary school, according to Reading Mayor Eddie Morán.
"The Pennsylvania Department of Conservation and Natural Resources (DCNR) Forestry division will lead the firefighting and mop-up operation, which is expected to continue for several days, coordinating any additional resources required," Morán told NBC News.
Twenty-two percent of the state is now under severe drought conditions.
Further to the east in New Jersey, the 100-acre Cannonball 3 Wildfire burns with 0% containment as of Saturday, according to the state's forest fire service. Fifty-five structures are in danger from the fire, and its cause is currently under investigation.
New Jersey is 6 inches below its yearly average of rainfall with a massive 76% of the state currently under severe drought conditions, according to CBS News. The last measurable rainfall at Newark's Liberty airport was on Sept. 29 with .039 inches of precipitation.
James Morley III ✉
James Morley III is a writer with more than two decades of experience in entertainment, travel, technology, and science and nature.
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