Entire state of Massachusetts under red flag warnings as Northeast wildfire outbreak persists
The entire state of Massachusetts was under red flag warnings Tuesday as new wildfires broke out across the Northeast amid a historic autumn drought.
With record dry conditions throughout the Northeast, fires ignited near a residential neighborhood in Philadelphia and in a state park south of Boston.
One of the biggest blazes that ignited Monday was the Hainesport Fire east of Philadelphia. At one point 20 structures were threatened but firefighters managed to stop the flames from advancing toward homes, officials said. The fire was 50% contained Tuesday after burning 40 acres of woodland, according to the New Jersey Forest Fire Service.
In Massachusetts, firefighters on Tuesday continued to battle a brush fire that broke out Monday in the Blue Hills Reservation, a state park near the town of Milton. The fire was 10% contained Tuesday morning, according to the state Department of Conservation & Recreation.
The causes of both the Philadelphia area fire and the Massachusetts blaze are under investigation.
The worst fire danger conditions are forecast to persist throughout New England on Tuesday, where the National Weather Service has issued red flag warnings covering the entire state.
Elevated fire risk was also forecast Tuesday for parts of Connecticut and Rhode Island.
The fire risk is being exacerbated by winds of 10 to 25 mph across the Northeast that can quickly spread fire once they ignite.
Much-needed rain is forecast to move into the Northeast on Wednesday night into Thursday morning, bringing 1 to 2 inches of rain to Washington D.C., Philadelphia, Boston, New York City and upstate New York. Snow is also possible in parts of Pennsylvania and upstate New York.
The pending precipitation will be a welcome sight to the hundreds of firefighters still fighting the Jennings Creek Fire burning on the border of New York's Orange County and New Jersey's Passaic County.
Joe Pollina, a meteorologist for the National Weather Service in Upton, New York, told ABC News on Monday that 1 to 1 1/2 inches of rain is forecast for the area where the Jennings Creek Fire is located.
"It definitely will help when it comes to the fire," Pollina said of the rainy forecast.
Over the weekend, the fire, which has burned about 5,000 acres, prompted hundreds of voluntary evacuations when flames jumped a containment line near Greenwood Lake and threatened homes in the private beach community of Wah-ta-Wah Park, according to New York State Parks Department spokesperson Jeff Wernick. On Sunday, Orange County fire officials said efforts to protect structures were successful and no structures were damaged.
The cause of the Jennings Creek Fire remains under investigation.
A New York State Parks and Recreation employee was killed earlier this month while helping the battle the Jennings Creek Fire, officials said. The deceased parks employee was identified by the New York State Police as 18-year-old Dariel Vasquez.
On Sunday, New York Gov. Kathy Hochul ordered that flags at state facilities be lowered to half-staff to honor Vasquez.
"Dariel was only 18 years old and had a truly bright future ahead of him that has now been unfairly taken away," Hochul said. "I commend his dedication to serving and protecting his fellow New Yorkers and his bravery on the front lines."
The majority of the Northeast has seen less than 25% of normal precipitation over the last month.
Many locations are also having their driest autumn on record, including Philadelphia, which hasn't recorded any measurable amount of precipitation in 42 days.
Northeast temperatures are also running 5 to 10 degrees above average for this time of year. The added warmth increases the drying of soils and other fuels such as leaves.
Since Oct. 1, New Jersey firefighters have responded to at least 537 wildfires that have consumed 4,500 acres, according to the New Jersey Forest Fire Service, while officials at the New York State Department of Environmental Conservation said New York fire crews have battled 60 wildfires since Oct. 1 that have burned 2,100 acres.
At one point last week, the National Weather Service had issued numerous red flag fire danger warnings throughout New Jersey and New York. At least 15 New York counties were under red flag warnings last week, including New York City and all of Long Island.
Multiple wildfires broke out across the Northeast, including some in New York City, where one ignited in the Inwood neighborhood of upper Manhattan and another scorched wooded land in Brooklyn's Prospect Park.
Before getting 0.18 inches of rain on Nov. 10 and 11, New York City had experienced one of its longest dry spells in history. New York City went 28 days without rain, the second longest dry stretch since 1924 when it went 36 consecutive days without rain.
The rash of fires in New York City prompted the New York Fire Department to create the first "brush fire task force" in the department's 100-year history, FDNY Fire Commissioner Robert S. Tucker said.
In the first 14 days of November, the FDNY responded to 271 brush fires citywide -- the highest amount in two weeks in New York City history, according to Tucker.
ABC News' Max Golembo and Ginger Zee contributed to this report.
