New York firefighter killed as historic drought fuels blazes

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New York firefighter ******* as historic drought fuels blazes

MORRISTOWN, N.J. − A firefighter was ******* battling blazes that stretched from New Jersey into New York over the weekend as historic drought conditions intensified a stranglehold across the Northeast, fueling wildfires and threatening lives and homes.

New York City has been enveloped in hazy skies from wildfires for days, and an air quality alert was issued for the city and nearby areas of New York State and New Jersey into Monday. The city has not been immune to the wildfires, either − multiple acres burned across Prospect Park in Brooklyn and Highbridge Park in the Bronx over the weekend.

“Every New Yorker needs to understand that we now live in a time of extreme weather. Climate change is real – it’s here,” New York City Emergency Management Commissioner Zach Iscol told

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. “Generally, when you think about climate change, you think of floods, you think about rising sea levels. But the fact is, it manifests itself in a lot of different ways.”

The Northeast hasn’t seen a “thorough soaking” since late September, according to

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. The dry conditions have increased the risk of wildfires, dried up streams and brought reservoirs to dangerously low levels, AccuWeather warned.

Brush ***** erupts in Brooklyn’s iconic Prospect Park amid prolonged drought

In New Jersey, the West Milford wildfire crossed into Orange County, New York, spreading to 2,500 acres of wooded properties with 0% containment, the New Jersey Forest ***** Service said Sunday. Roads were closed and more than two dozen homes, businesses and other structures were imperiled.

The agency also extended “condolences to our counterparts at the NY State Parks, Recreation, and Historic Preservation Department following the tragic line-of-duty loss of one of their team members” battling a ***** burning in both states. Orange County Emergency Services

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confirming “the passing of a dedicated service member we lost today.”

A wildfire burns in the Greenwood Lake, NY area on Sunday, Nov. 10, 2024.

Last month was the second driest October on record for the lower 48 states combined. The only time October was drier was more than 70 years ago. Parts of the Northeast could get some rain late Sunday into Monday, but the drought is so deep and severe the rains will have minimal long-term impact. As quickly as firefighters have doused the flames across the region, more fires have sprung up.

The New Jersey ***** danger dashboard, which ranks ***** risk in each county from low to extreme, showed the entire state under extreme conditions. New Jersey and Delaware are coming off their driest October’s on record, according to the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration.

Massachusetts and Connecticut are among other states where drought and ***** warnings have been issued. The

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that a Red Flag Warning was in place Sunday. Fires that start today will spread quickly given extremely dry conditions and gusty southwest winds, the warning said.

Connecticut declared a drought advisory and warned that water supplies could become a problem. Martin Heft, chairman of the Connecticut Interagency Drought Workgroup, said his state has had the driest two-month ******* since recordkeeping began in 1905.

“The lack of rain over the past two months has caused exceptionally dry conditions across Connecticut, resulting in numerous wildfires and reduced groundwater levels and streamflows,” Gov. Ned Lamont said. “We want to encourage everyone right now to be mindful of their water consumption and take some simple, sensible steps to stretch water supplies.”

Contributing: Eduardo Cuevas

This article originally appeared on USA TODAY:

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