RIP
Firefighter dead, NYC faces wildfire threats caused by historic drought


A forest fire is pictured in Prospect Park, Brooklyn, in a photo shared online by the FDNY. Photo courtesy of FDNY/X

Nov. 10 (UPI) -- Dariel Vasquez, an 18-year-old volunteer firefighter from New Jersey, died Sunday in New York while helping battle a wildfire in Sterling Forest.

The Big Apple is cooking amid a historic drought and abnormally warm weather, raising the risk of wildfires in New York City's green spaces.

Vasquez was killed while battling a fire in a forest in Greenwood Lake, about 35 miles northwest of New York City, according to state police.

A large brush fire in Prospect Park in Brooklyn reached two alarms on Friday, the FDNY said on social media, with dramatic photographs showing flames burning through the park's dense trees.

This is the latest in a recent series of wildfires in the area due to dry conditions prompted by an ongoing drought.

Meanwhile, another New Jersey man has been hit with arson and firearms charges after a wildfire in Jackson Township, located about 75 miles south of New York, the New Jersey Forest Service announced on Facebook.

That fire, which burned 350 acres behind a berm in the area of the Central Jersey Rifle Range, was ignited by magnesium shards of a Dragons Breath 12 gauge shotgun round fired by Richard Shashaty, 37, of Brick Township.

"The firing of this type of incendiary or tracer ammunition is prohibited in the State of New Jersey," the Forest Service said.

The entire region has been affected by the drought, with one wildfire along the New Jersey border with New York able to be seen from space.

"We are able to see a wildfire along the NJ/NY border from space courtesy of @NOAASatellites," the National Weather Service in New York said in a statement Saturday.

"Some of this smoke/haze may be visible further south into NYC. Smaller fires are also faintly visible, one in central Passaic County, one in SE Orange County, one in SW Putnam County."

Another fire has burned through at least 39 acres of wooded areas off the Palisades Interstate Parkway in Englewood Cliffs, just across the Hudson River from New York, the New Jersey Forest Fire Service said.

That fire has reached 75% containment.

But a wildfire off Cannonball Road in Pompton Lakes, New Jersey, has burned through nearly 200 acres of land and threatened at least 55 structures.
Advertisement





The NWS said New York faced "another dry day with an elevated risk of wildfire spread if ignition occurs" on Sunday. An air quality warning remains in effect for the city and the lower Hudson Valley region through midnight.

Back in New York, the FDNY said in a statement Saturday that it has since responded to "hundreds" of brush fires across the city's five boroughs.

"Some have been minor, and others have risen to multiple alarm fires that threaten life and property," the FDNY said.

"Brush fires can spread quickly, fueled by dry vegetation and windy conditions. October and November have been historically dry and warm."

New York Mayor Eric Adams banned grilling in city parks on Saturday. And the FDNY has encouraged New Yorkers to be mindful of smoking and where they dispose of their cigarette butts and urged people to remain on designated trails when visiting the city's parks.

"If you've been outside, you've likely smelled the smoke from wildfires in our region, including one that burned in Prospect Park," Adams said in a statement. "Stay indoors if you have respiratory issues and avoid burning outside while the risk of fires is high."