Nov. 14 (UPI) — Firefighters are very busy battling several wildfires in Manhattan, Queens and New Jersey as dry conditions, brush and falling leaves continue to fuel them.
Nearly two dozen brush fires required firefighter responses in Van Cortlandt Park in The Bronx so far in November, and a brush fire in Inwood Hill Park in Upper Manhattan began blazing at 3 p.m. EST on Wednesday.
About 140 firefighters and New York Police Department personnel responded to the Inwood Hill Park blaze, which the NYFD continued fighting into the evening to ensure they extinguished all hot spots in wooded locations.
The nearby Spuyten Duyvil Creek provided the water firefighters needed to put out the blaze at Inwood Hill Park, which has several areas that are difficult for traditional fire trucks to reach.
The fire was several acres in size and located on a heavily wooded and steep hill, which made it very difficult for firefighters to move about while fighting the blaze.
The fire’s relatively remote location requires more personnel to stretch hoses and more water tanks and brush-fire trucks to effectively put out the fire, a FDNY lieutenant on the scene told The City.
Firefighters used drones and two fire boats to help monitor and fight the blaze in Inwood Hill Park.
Manhattan Borough President Mark Levine posted videos of the fire on X and urged residents to use caution if they are in the area.
The firefighters remained on the scene through the night to ensure it goes out, but Manhattan officials said residents and visitors should smell smoke while in the area and recommended keeping windows closed and to avoid the area.
The NYFD also fought a brush fire at Alley Pond Parkin Queens on Wednesday.
In nearby New Jersey, firefighters continue battling the Jennings Creek Fire in West Milford.
That fire burned 2,283 acres in New Jersey and was 30% contained on Wednesday and is located along the state line separating New Jersey and New York, the New Jersey Forest Fire Service announced in a post on X on Wednesday.
NYFD firefighters have responded to 229 brush fires over the prior two weeks as unusually dry conditions persist.
A high fire danger persists in New York and New Jersey due to a lack of rainfall.