Unprecedented levels of drought and annual increases in fire weather conditions are triggering a growing trend of fire danger throughout the Northeast United States, some of which was recently seen in New Jersey and New York.
Fire crews in New Jersey have been fighting the Jennings Creek Fire since Sunday, according to the state’s forest fire service. The wildfire has burned 3,500 acres and sits at 20% containment, but crews expect the fire to continue burning for days until it reaches containment lines.
Smoke-covered areas of New York City after a fire ignited in Brooklyn’s Prospect Park over the weekend. The fire has since been extinguished and officials are assessing the damage.
The National Weather Service issued a Special Weather Statement for the area regarding elevated risk of fire spread on Tuesday, with gusts up to 35 mph and low humidity expected into the evening. New Jersey prohibited all fires throughout the state in response to the statement, while New York City Mayor Eric Adams banned all grilling within parks.
Drought played an integral role in the fires’ spread, with NOAA calling the Fall 2024 drought “historic” in a tweet on Oct. 31.
“48 states have some drought, the most in Drought Monitor history,” NOAA said. “87.2% of the Lower 48 and 73.2% of the US are Abnormally Dry (D0) or in drought, both Drought Monitor records.”
People living throughout the Northeast U.S. can expect more fire weather in the future driven by human-induced climate change through the burning of fossil fuels, according to climate change research institute Climate Central.
The organization recently analyzed data from 476 weather stations over the last 51 years to find how climate change is affecting fire weather across the nation.
Most eastern areas in the analysis saw increases in annual fire weather days since 1973, with around 3o% of areas seeing no change or a decrease. A specific band stretching from coastal Maine through the Northeast experienced the greatest increases in annual fire weather days, namely New York and New Jersey.
“Fire weather — dry, windy, warm conditions that allow wildfires to spread — is becoming more common in the Northeast,” the organization recently tweeted. “Parts of northern New Jersey and coastal New York are experiencing at least 10 additional days of fire weather annually vs. the 1970s.”
