Rain on the way could spell relief for crews battling rash of Northeast wildfires

(NEW YORK) — Firefighters battling an outbreak of wildfires across the Northeast amid a historic autumn drought could get some relief from Mother Nature by the middle of this week.

A rainstorm on the way is forecast to reach the Northeast by Wednesday evening. The heaviest rain is expected Wednesday night through Friday from Northern New Jersey to upstate New York and New England, possibly bringing 1 to 2 inches of rain.

The forecast also calls for a chance for snow in western Pennsylvania and upstate New York and into New England on Thursday and Friday.

But until wet weather arrives, critical fire danger conditions will persist throughout the drought-stricken Northeast, officials said. Winds of up to 30 mph are expected to kick up across the Northeast Monday afternoon, and relative humidity is forecast to fall 35%.

Monday marked the second straight day that no new red flag warnings have been issued in the Northeast after nearly a full week of the region being under red flag warnings.

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 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 New York City, Philadelphia, Atlantic City and Bangor, Maine. Boston is in the throes of its second driest fall season on record.

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.

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 contributed to this report.

Copyright © 2024, ABC Audio. All rights reserved.