Video review of 2024 Wildfire Season in the Tri-State Area

Direct link to November 2024 video on News 12 Originals

I have already written about the 2024 wildfire season in New Jersey, the worst in history. 2024 was also a very bad wildfire year in New York City, and nearby counties in New York as well as in Connecticut.  Here are two posts that I have written on the 2024 wildfire season in New Jersey: (1) a November 2024 post summarizing the 2024 wildfire season where I did my best to summarize the major wildfires in New Jersey in 2024 using information from the NJ Forest Fire Service and various local media outlets , and (2) a February 2025 post providing an historical perspective going back to 2013 as well as wildfires by month in New Jersey in 2024 (this post was possible due to the good work of the NJ Forest Association and the NJ Forest Fire Service).

I was intrigued when I learned of the News 12 Originals video from my friends at the B10 New Jersey Wildfire Page. This video was posted on November 2025 with an original airdate in November 2024. I do get News 12 New Jersey but missed this report. While perhaps on the long side (21 minutes) for a blog post I liked the summary of wildfires in the Tri-State provided by News 12 reporters so I decided to share this video with you.

2025 wildfires in New Jersey: In a NJFFS press conference on April 23rd NJFFS Fire Chief, Bill Donnelly said that for 2025 through April 23rd, 662 wildfires have burned 16,572 acres. Two of these wildfires were over 1,000 acres: Jones Rd Fire in Ocean County, 15,300 acres and Danny's Fire in Cumberland County, 1,300 acres. I do not yet have any information on the number and size of wildfires that burned in New Jersey after April 23rd. 

Friday Fun: CL-415 Scoopers, 2024 Fire Season

Direct link to November 2024 video from Michael Redwine on YouTube

A video from Michael Redwine summarizing the CL-415 Scoopers flying wildfires during the 2024 fire season. Enjoy

2024 Wildfire Season: Blue Mt Fire Lehigh Twshp PA (Nov 2-8)

Direct link to video by Northeast Bravest on YouTube

I am often, on the lookout for current or past wildfire activity in the Northeast and Mid-Atlantic areas of the United States. This is another situation where I found the video that I shared about by accident because I had looked at another video by Northeast Bravest on YouTube when I saw a couple of videos of footage from the Blue Mountain Fire that according to this November 8, 2024 Lehigh Valley News Article burned approximately 600 acres near Lehigh Gap in Northampton County, Pennsylvania. I believe but am not certain that the wildfire started on November 2nd. The fire was contained on November 8th. I enjoyed watching this five-video seeing helicopters and buckets and backhoes working the fire along with some nice fire footage. I may of heard about this wildfire at the time, but I was very busy following the 2024 fall wildfire season in New Jersey at the time. I am not meaning to make excuses, but it was all I could do to focus on the wildfire situation in my own State of New Jersey.

2024 Wildfire Season: Idaho City Hotshots Crew Video

Enjoy this 15 minute minute from Krossed Saints summarizing the Idaho City Hotshots 2024 Wildfire Season.

Direct link to video by Krossed Saints on YouTube

2024 Wildfire Season: MIdewin Hotshots

I do want to recognize the work of the Midewin Interagency Hotshot Crew, the only Interagency Hotshot Crew based in the eastern region. They are based in Wilmington Illinois, their unofficial webpage may be found here and they do have a Facebook page which does not require a Facebook account to view some of their content and they have an Instagram Page. I do not have an Instagram account but I am able to view some limited information.

Up through 2022, they produced annual season videos, which I have posted in the past, go here to see my posts with the Midewin Hotshot tag. Since I discovered a few weeks ago that those of you using smart phones are not able to see content I embed from Facebook, I no longer embed Facebook content. But the Midewin Hotshots have some nice photos on their Facebook and Instagram pages, I urge those of you are able to view this content to take a look at their photos from the 2024 season.

I did look at their Facebook page so I could get a feel for where the Midewin IHC were deployed in the 2024 wildfire season. After they gathered for training and the like in early February their season started on or about February 19th where the spent some time in the eastern region. I don't have access to information on all their deployments in 2024, but thanks to their Facebook account, I know that they started the season with deployments in West Virginia, Tennessee, and Michigan before being deployed out west in Oregon and Washington. I expect that there are deployments that I do not know about and are not listed here. Their season ended on or about August 23rd, see their crew photo here.

I do want to emphasize that I hold a special place for the Midewin Hotshots because they are based in the eastern region of the U.S. where I live. I am very proud of the Midewin Hotshots for their work in keeping us safe from wildfires during their deployments.

2024 Wildfire Season: Jackson Hotshots

As I share 2024 crew videos from hotshots and other crews at this time of year, as I can I want to be sure to include videos from crews based in the eastern part of the United States. The Midewin Interagency Hotshot Crew is based in the Midewin National Tallgrass Prarie in Wilmington, Illinois. While they posted crew videos from 2022 and earlier, they did not have a crew video summarizing their 2023 season nor have I seen one for 2024.

Moving to the southern region in the U.S., there are four hotshot crews based in the south: Asheville Interagency Hotshots. Augusta Interagency Hotshots, Cherokee Interagency Hotshots and the Jackson Interagency Agency Hotshots, go here for more information on these four hotshot crews. I did find a video from the Jackson IHC summarizing their 2024 season which I am embedding below. The Jackson IHC is the only Bureay of Land Management hotshot crew east of the Mississippi River, go to this BLM web page for more information. While the video does not disclose where they were deployed, that does not matter as I got to see the crew in action and meet some of them.

Direct link to video from Levic on YouTube.

2024 Wildfire Season: Thank-you Firefighters

Words can not always express my gratitude for the hardwork that all wildland firefighters do whether they be on the ground or in the air to work to contain wildfires of any size and to keep us safe. I think that the short video from the National Interagency Fire Center, compiled from community expressions of gratitude  expresses what I can not.

Direct link to video from the National Interagency Fire Center on YouTube 

2024 Wildfire Season: Lone Peak Hotshots 2024 Crew Video

I have been reading a fictionalized account of a hotshot crew which got me thinking that it is the time of year when I like to post crew videos summarizing their 2024 wildfire season. As someone who is not nor has never been a wildland firefighter, videos such as the one that I will embed here give me an idea of what it is like to work on a wildland fire crew. 

There are lots of videos from various hotshot crews hightlighting their 2024 fire season. For no apparent reason I am starting with the Lone Peak Hotshots based in Utah, perhaps because I have family ties to Utah. No, I have never been to Utah, perhaps one day? The Lone Peak Hotshots have a Facebook page

The Lone Peak Hotshots have a nice Facebook page that should be available without a Facebook account with some nice videos from their 2024 season along with other posts, go here to see their Facebook page.

The 2024 Lone Peak Hotshot video is just under ten minutes and the footage was taken by assorted crew members. I enjoyed the footage and the music. I always enjoy "meeting" the crew members.

Direct link to video from Lone Peak on YouTube

More on DC-10 Air Tankers

Very cool view of @Ten_Tanker working the Georgetown Summit Fire fire earlier this week in Idaho.

Thanks to the subscriber who shared this footage of this drop. 🙏#wildfire #idfire #idwx pic.twitter.com/haao28r7ex

— The Hotshot Wake Up (@HotshotWake) October 20, 2024

The video is of one of 10 Tanker's DC-10 air tankers dropping on the Georgetown Summit Fire in Idaho on or about October 14, 2024

Pink sky at night, [pilot’s] delight… 🌅✈️

📸: @citabria_jon #10_tanker #ReadyToServe #inthistogether #calfire #pocatello #VLAT #aviationlovers #avgeek #dc10tanker #aviationdaily #wildfireready #sunset #sunsetphotography #wildfireseason #planelovers #aviationphotography pic.twitter.com/sVImwagZGp

— 10_Tanker Air Carrier (@Ten_Tanker) November 12, 2024

Continuing with DC-10 Tankers from 10 Tanker Air Carrier, see my December 5th post where I embedded a short video highlighting what happens inside a DC-10 tanker when they are dropping on a wildfire. I follow 10 Tanker Air Carrier on the X platform, formerly known as Twitter and Facebook where they have great photographs and videos along with other information. They also have an instagram account. You need an account on the X platform to access their content but Facebook should be available without an account. Their website is great with a photo gallery and their home page is chock full of information including current fire statistics and a link to a DC-10 Fact Sheet. As I write this, the latest statistics for 10 Tanker's DC-10 tankers in 2024 are

• On September 13th delivered 7 million gallons of retardant
• 767 missions
• missions to California, Arizona, Colorado, and New Mexico

2024 New Jersey Wildfire Season: Highlights of Tri-State Wildfires & Protecting Your Home

Thanks to my friends at the B10 New Jersey Wildfire Page for sharing this video from News 12 on "Tri-State Wildfires, Are you at risk and what can be done." I am not quite sure when this report aired, probably before our recent rains that fell on November 21st and 22nd? You will see some footage of recent wildfires in New Jersey, and adjoining areas off New York as well as Connecticut along with some tips on fire safety in your house or apartment. Even though we had two days of rains that have helped the surface fires within containment lines, we are still in a drought and once things dry out the wildfire danger will escalate. Allow a little over 20 minutes to watch the video

Direct link to video from News 12 on YouTube

Preparing your home for Wildfires

I downloaded the following Firewise USA file on preparing your home for wildfires from the New Jersey Forest Fire Service's prevention publications page. Their page for landscaping plants that are fire resistant and can grow in New Jersey may be found here, it is a good source of information.

2024 Wildfire Season: More Wildfires in MA, PA, and NYC (Nov 5 and 6)

 I was focusing on wildfires in New Jersey for the last few days on my blog, however, I want to assure you that I am aware of high wildfire danger elsewhere in the Mid-Atlantic on the Northeastern United States. To that end, I will share three videos that my friends at the B10 NJ Wildland Fire Page shared yesterday and today. These videos cover specific wildfires but I am certain that there are other wildfires in Pennsylvania and Massachusetts. I am not sure about New York City.

1. I start with Pennsylvania

Direct link to video from PA Homepage on YouTube

2. Progress being made on a wildfire in Massachusetts

Direct link to video from Western Mass News on YouTube

3. Wildfires in large parks in New York City

Direct link to video from PIX 11 News on YouTube

2024 Wildfire Season: Wildfires Continue in Massachusetts

Direct link to video from WCVB Channel 5 Boston on YouTube

New Jersey continues to be in a period of very high fire danger, but according to the NWS Mt.Holly/Philadelphia the risk of the spread of wildfires is not as high today as it had been recently. That is not the case in southern New England where an elevated risk of wildfires continues today (Oct 30) in southern New England. Wildfires continue in Massachusetts and probably elsewhere in southern New England

061
WWUS81 KBOX 292246
SPSBOX
Special Weather Statement
National Weather Service Boston/Norton MA
646 PM EDT Tue Oct 29 2024
CTZ002>004-MAZ002>024-026-RIZ001>008-310000-
Hartford CT-Tolland CT-Windham CT-Western Franklin MA-
Eastern Franklin MA-Northern Worcester MA-Central Middlesex MA-
Western Essex MA-Eastern Essex MA-Western Hampshire MA-
Western Hampden MA-Eastern Hampshire MA-Eastern Hampden MA-
Southern Worcester MA-Western Norfolk MA-Southeast Middlesex MA-
Suffolk MA-Eastern Norfolk MA-Northern Bristol MA-
Western Plymouth MA-Eastern Plymouth MA-Southern Bristol MA-
Southern Plymouth MA-Barnstable MA-Dukes MA-Nantucket MA-
Northern Middlesex MA-Northwest Providence RI-
Southeast Providence RI-Western Kent RI-Eastern Kent RI-
Bristol RI-Washington RI-Newport RI-Block Island RI-
Including the cities of Hartford, Windsor Locks, Union, Vernon,
Putnam, Willimantic, Charlemont, Greenfield, Orange, Barre,
Fitchburg, Framingham, Lowell, Lawrence, Gloucester,
Chesterfield, Blandford, Amherst, Northampton, Springfield,
Milford, Worcester, Foxborough, Norwood, Cambridge, Boston,
Quincy, Taunton, Brockton, Plymouth, Fall River, New Bedford,
Mattapoisett, Chatham, Falmouth, Provincetown, Vineyard Haven,
Nantucket, Ayer, Foster, Smithfield, Providence, Coventry,
West Greenwich, East Greenwich, Warwick, West Warwick, Bristol,
Narragansett, Westerly, Newport, and New Shoreham

646 PM EDT Tue Oct 29 2024
...ELEVATED FIRE WEATHER CONCERNS FOR SOUTHERN NEW ENGLAND
WEDNESDAY...

The prolonged period of dry weather coupled with a very dry ground
will continue to result in elevated fire weather concerns
Wednesday. Highs Wednesday should recover into the upper 60s to
the middle 70s. Minimum relative humidity values are expected to
range between 45 to 55 percent with southwest winds of 10 to 15
mph.
Use caution when handling and disposing of ignition sources.
Outdoor burning is not recommended.

2024 Wildfire Season: Connecticut

Thanks to my friends at the B10 NJ Wildland Fire Page who do an excellent job providing important updates to the current wildfire situation in New Jersey. Among other things they post critical updates on wildfire danger from the National Weather Service at Mt. Holly NJ, see Mt Holly's fire weather forecast for today, October 25th as we in NJ remain at an increased risk of wildfire danger. 

While I have been focusing on the high wildfire danger in New Jersey over the last few days, I have been aware of wildfire concerns in other parts of the country, including but not limited the mid-atlantic and the northeastern United States. Thanks again to my friends from the B10 NJ Wildland Fire Page who post videos every day focusing on wildfire concerns around the United States (including New Jersey) and internationally. In looking at the videos they have posted recently I became aware of the high fire danger in Connecticut and wildfires burning in Connecticut. Today, I am here to share a couple of videos about a wildfire, the Hawthorne Fire, that has been burning in Berlin, Connecticut. The fire is on Lamentation Mountain in Berlin and is difficult to access. I have tried to find specific information, e.g. fire size and containment information, but so far have not been able to find a page to refer you to. However, I do know from this report from the NBC CT Weather Blog (updated October 25th at 7:10 AM) that the fire is reported to have burned 107 acres.

Unfortunately, one wildland firefighter has died in a rollover incident a couple of days ago. Wildland firefighters in the same vehicle were injured and have since been released from the hospital. Aerial resources have been deployed to work the Hawthorne Fire, included helicopters from the Connecticut National Guard.

1. Hawthorne Fire in Berlin continues to burn

Direct link to video from Fox 61 on YouTube

2. Wildland firefighter dies in rollover accident

Direct link to video from WPRI on YouTube

3. Connecticut National Guard helicopters working Hawthorne Fire

Direct link to video from WFSB 3 on YouTube

Nevada National Guard's Blackhawk dropping on the Davis Fire (Reno, NV)

Various State and regional National Guard Units, and other military reserve unit play crucial roles during busy fire seasons be sending their aircraft and crews to help fight wildfires. The Nevada National Guard deployed one of their UH-60 Black Hawk Helicopters to provide crucial air support to the Davis Fire currently burning near Reno Nevada. At the time I am writing this entry the Davis Fire has burned 6,500 acres near Reno, Nevada. 

The fire was first reported on September 7th. Mandatory evacuations are in place along with road closures in place in the vicinity of the fire and power outages. At least 14 homes have been impacted in some way. The Nevada National Guard Black Hawk was one of eight aircraft deployed to the fire as of Sunday evening, September 8th. Additional information may be found at this September 8th 7 PM news release reporting on the Davis Fire on Inciweb. KOLO8ABC out of Reno Nevada is covering the Davis Fire at the time of this writing, here is a link to their September 8th evening coverage.

2024 Wildfire Season: Western Oregon (Aug 19)

Direct link to August 17th video from KEZI 9 on Youtube

Last week a friend of mine contacted me saying that they are following a couple of wildfires in Oregon, the Middle Fork and Diamond Complex Fires because they will be traveling in that area in September. As my friend is following these two wildfires and knowing that Oregon is having a bad wildfire season, I wanted to write a little about some of the wildfires in Oregon. Wanting to know a little more, I found KEZI 9 on YouTube, this station has frequent wildfire updates. I am sharing their August 17th update below and using that as jumping off to list the wildfires they are reporting on with what I hope are the correct links to inciweb with acreage and percent containment at the time of this post. This listing is only a partial list of the current wildfires burning in Oregon. 

• North Willamette Complex comprised of the Ore Fire (3,132 acres, 14% contained) and the Pyramid Fire (1,320 acres, 14% contained
• South Willamette Complex: 13,005 acres, 48% contained
• Cottage Grove Lane 1: 25,250 acres, 61% contained
• Diamond Complex: 10,984 acres, 33% contained
• Middle Fork Fire: 5,222 acres, 0% contained
• Homestead Complex: 5,832 acres, 31% contained
• Dixon Fire: 1,970 acres, 47% contained

The State of Oregon has a page with current wildfire information that may be found here, their listings will include some wildfires that are not listed on inciweb. 

2024 Wildfire Season: Wildfires in Western Canada

 I owe a friend of mine from Canada a thank-you for giving me a gentle kick a couple of days reminding me about a bad wildfire in Jasper in Alberta. My friends were traveling in Alberta in late July, spending one night in Jasper around the time evacuation orders were issued. Thankfully, my friends got out of Jasper safely and without too much difficulty. 

The wildfire in and around Jasper started on or about July 22nd. I believe that my friends were there 2 to 4 days later. Many houses in Jasper were lost to the wildfire and residents are only recently being allowed to return. Roads in the area of the wildfire were just reopened on or about August 9th and 10th.Jasper National Park is still closed as I write this. The fire was at 80 percent containment on August 10th. There are many photos of the fire along with information on emotional and mental health,  rapid damage assessment and more at website from Parks Canada that I linked to earlier in this paragraph. The video that I have embedded below is from Sky News in late July.

Direct link to video from Sky News on YouTube

While some progress has been made on the Jasper Fire, wildfire danger remains in western Canada. An example is a warning off extreme wildfire danger in British Columbia for the weekend just past. Revised at 3:25 pm on August 12th with some information on wildfire starts over the weekend.

Direct link to video from CTV News on YouTube

British Columbia's Wildfire Service webpage may be found here and it looks like this page (with a map) is updated at least daily. According to their dashboard (dated August 12th, probably updated daily) there are 414 active wildfires of which 34 were started in the last 24 hours and 328 were started by lightning. Of the 414, five are consider a wildfire of note. A wildfire of note "are wildfires that are highly visible or post a potential threat to public safety." At least four of these were started since July 19th.

The Kamloops Fire Center in British Columbia reported 30 new wildfire starts from August 9 to 11th, most if not all of these wildfire starts can be attributed to lightning.

As for specific wildfires that were started over the weekend, CBC Canada reported on one, a wildfire that was first reported on Saturday, August 10 burning close to the village of Valemount in British Columbia, known as the Canoe Road Wildfire. An evacuation order was issued Saturday morning and later lowered to an evacuation alert. 

Wildfire Week in Review from NIFC

I came across this nice short video from the National Interagency Fire Center reviewing wildfires for the week ending August 2, 2024 with some good fire photography of the fires referred to in this video. According to the NIFC video, 28,649 wildfires had burned 4,512,854 acres the year through August 2nd. Updated year to date figures and other wildfire news may be obtained from NIFC at the above link.

Direct link to video from the National Interagency Fire Center on YouTube

Here is a list of wildfires mentioned in this video. I looked on Inciweb for links to incident information for each of these fires, I hope that the links are correct. I did double check each link, any errors are mine.

• Park Fire, California
• Hill Fire, California
• Currant Creek Fire, Colorado
• Boulder Fire, Idaho
• Gwen Fire, Idaho
• Wolf Creek Fire, Idaho
• Thunder Fire, Idaho
• Falls Fire, Oregon
• Homestead Complex, Oregon
• Badland Complex, Oregon
• Oakridge Lightning Fire, Oregon
• Telephone Fire, Oregon
• Ore Fire, Oregon
• Easy Fire, Washington
• Swawilla Fire, Washington
• Pincer Two Fire, Washington
• Clearwater Fire, Wyoming

2024 Wildfire Season: All Survived Helicopter Accident

 I do know that there are survivable aviation accidents, including those affecting the wildland firefighting community. However,  I am rarely in the position to have information to share with you on an aviation accident where all on board survived. Today I do, thanks to Bureau of Land Management Fire that I will share with you at the end of this post.  My understanding is that a Bell 407 helicopter carrying a helitack crew had to use autorotation for an emergency landing after an in-flight emergency. Kudos to the pilot. I am thankful that all onboard survived.

As soon as I saw the post from the Bureau of Land Management Fire, I knew that I had to share this with you. It is so special to be able to share about an accident where all survived. Perhaps some of the survivors are experiencing some psychological effects from surviving the accident, in my opinion that would be understandable.

2024 Wildfire Season: NJ Forest Fire Service Helping in California

This year the New Jersey Forest Fire Service has deployed crews and engines to help fight wildfires in California, I wrote about there first deployment on June12th with an update on July 1st about another deployment. I am not quite sure of the status of these deployments, but some crews have returned to New Jersey. Crews serve for a maximum of 14 days before rotating out and possibly being replaced by new crews. I am embedding a nice July 30th report from CBS Philadelphia on these deployments.

Direct link to CBS Philadelphia on YouTube

Fatal AT802 Crash July 25th Seneca, Oregon

Direct link to video from KTVB on YouTube

Early last Friday morning (July 26th) I learned that a SEAT (AT-802) was missing in the vicinity of the Falls Fire near Seneca Oregon. Later that evening I learned that investigators had found the crash site and the pilot, the sole occupant, had died in the crash. I followed this crash over the weekend and saw a post from the BLM in Oregon and Washington saying that James Bailey Maxwell, 74 was flying the SEAT when it crashed on July 25th. I offer my condolences to the family, friends, colleagues and all who loved James. James, may you always fly in favorable winds. I will not forget your sacrifice, may you rest in peace.