Historic drought fuels blazes across Northeast as wildfires burn on both coasts

Firefighters on both coasts were battling wildland blazes Monday after thousands of acres burned in New Jersey amid a historic drought and after strong winds last week sent a blaze howling through Ventura County, California.

The late-season fires, which come just a few weeks before the Thanksgiving holiday, are a reminder that wildfires are quickly becoming a year-round hazard in the U.S.

In California, the so-called Mountain Fire in Ventura County had grown to 20,630 acres, or 32 square miles, and was only 36% contained Monday evening, according to CAL Fire, the state agency responsible for fire protection. About 2,800 people were working to contain the blaze, which has damaged or destroyed nearly 250 structures since it started Wednesday.

Ventura County Fire Capt. Tony McHale said the blaze was initially pushed by the famous Santa Ana winds, which roared through at 60 mph and gusted up to 80 mph.

In such challenging conditions, “it’s like trying to put a blowtorch out with a squirt gun,” McHale said.

Six people have been injured.

Overnight and into Monday morning, fire crews took advantage of favorable conditions, building up the containment line around the blaze. Forecasters were expecting a cold front to push into the region, raising humidity levels but also causing some gusts Monday night.

Nearly 2,500 miles away, in New York and New Jersey, several blazes were burning in rugged terrain parched by drought.

Three counties in New Jersey are experiencing “extreme” drought, while the rest of the state has severe or moderate drought conditions, according to the U.S. Drought Monitor at the University of Nebraska-Lincoln.

“We are experiencing an unprecedented dry spell, and we are currently in historical numbers for our critical fuels, or the forest floor being dried out, and we’re seeing stuff that we haven’t seen in quite some time here in New Jersey,” Chris Franek of the New Jersey Forest Fire Service said at a news conference Monday.

The blazes in the Northeast have killed at least one person: Dariel Vasquez, 18, a New York Parks employee, was killed Saturday by a falling tree while he was battling a fire in Sterling Forest, in New York’s Orange County. A memorial service was scheduled at Ramapo High School on Monday.

The Jennings Creek Wildfire was burning in Passaic County, New Jersey, and across the border in New York State’s Orange County. The fire had grown to 3,500 acres — about 4.6 square miles — and was only 20% contained Monday afternoon, the New Jersey Forest Fire Service said. At least 10 structures were threatened.

While only a quarter-inch of rain fell over the fire overnight Sunday, authorities said it was enough to offer a rest for fire crews but not enough to douse the blaze.

“That’s not going to solve the problem that we have here with this wildfire. It’s inevitable that this fire is going to continue to burn up until it reaches our control line,” New Jersey Forest Fire Service Chief Bill Donnelly said at a news conference Sunday.

He said the fire would most likely burn through the end of this week, when the service hopes it can secure its control lines and contain the blaze.

Officials in Warwick, New York, asked residents near the fire to voluntarily evacuate Sunday night.

“Twelve homeowners evacuated their residence. Luckily, we were able to contain the fire,” Peter Cirigliano, commissioner for emergency services in Orange County, said Monday morning at a news conference, adding that none of the homes burned.

Jesse Dwyer, the town supervisor, said the fire is “one of the worst natural disasters” Warwick has experienced. “If things turn south, the threat to life and property could really take a turn for the worse,” he said.

Power was shut down Sunday night in Greenwood Lake Village, east of Warwick, as a preventive measure, and the American Red Cross set up a shelter.

Donnelly said his teams have been called to 537 reports of wildfires in New Jersey alone since Oct 1. Agencies in New York state had responded to 60 wildfires in the same period.

A blaze in Burlington County has been burning since July 5, Donnelly said.

The National Weather Service warned that gusts up to 35 mph could roar through the region Tuesday as a cold front moved in.

“There is an increased risk for fire spread on Tuesday,” the agency wrote in a special statement. “Conditions will support the spread of any fires that ignite, which could quickly become difficult to control.”