Red flag warning throughout NYC region as historic drought brings threat of more fire
Nov. 16, 2024, 10:52 a.m.
Rain is expected later next week, but forecasters say it won't be enough.
The National Weather Service issued a red flag warning on Saturday for the entire New York City region — illustrating dangerous potential for rapid fire spread throughout the area as dry conditions show little hope of alleviating.
The warning is in effect until 6 p.m. Saturday, and brings elevated fire risk into the five boroughs and all its surrounding areas, from Long Island and the lower Hudson Valley to Connecticut and New Jersey.
The warning comes as the city and northern New Jersey have faced the early stages of an historic drought over the past month — one that’s threatened water supplies and made for a record amount of brush and wildfires in the region. Among the biggest is the Jennings Creek wildfire on the border of North Jersey and southern Orange County in New York, which has been raging for weeks and which firefighters have nearly contained.
But continued dry and windy weather will continue to threaten the area.
“Any fires that develop could spread very rapidly,” NWS meteorologist Bill Goodman said on Saturday morning.
Under the red flag warning, wind gusts of up to 30 miles per hour, paired with low humidity and ongoing dry conditions in the area, means dangerous potential for fire spread, according to the NWS.
New York state has banned open fires until the end of November after persistent dryness in the region and a spate of dangerous fire conditions. Smokers are being asked to dispose of their cigarette butts responsibly to prevent the ignition of any fires, which are under heightened risk of spreading rapidly.
Mayor Eric Adams issued a drought watch for the city earlier this month, and conditions are unlikely to improve soon. Goodman said the New York area is poised to see rain Wednesday night into Friday, but that will do little to reverse the effects of one of the driest autumns in New York since records began.
“That would at least take the edge off the fire weather conditions. Whether it puts a dent in the drought — we'll take anything that we can get, but I think we have a pretty big shortfall to make up for,” Goodman said.
FDNY contains 4-acre fire in Manhattan’s Inwood Hill Park, using water from Harlem River Fires in NYC parks are common. The drought is making them bigger and more frequent.