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 New Jersey Wildfire Season: Happy to See Rain

I am seeing strange drops from the sky and enjoying every minute. Strange drops from the sky aka RAIN! 

I come to you today about 40 hours after it started raining in my neck of the woods in northwestern New Jersey. I know that wildfires in northern areas of New Jersey and adjoining Pennsylvania and New York that wildfires that are still being monitored by the New Jersey Forest Fire Service and firefighting agencies in PA and NY have benefited from the rains and snow fall over the last 36 hours. As I write this, more rain and snow is expected today. 

I took advantage of yesterday’s rain and took a day off from my blog, the first in a couple of weeks, after doing my best to follow and report on the 2024 New Jersey Fall Wildfire Season. I know enough to know while this rain and snowfall may make a dent in our drought warning it is not enough to remove the drought warnings in New Jersey. I also know that any amount of rain can help to put out any surface fires within containment lines of wildfires that have burned in New Jersey this fall.

The wildfire that comes to mind as  I write this is the Jennings Creek Wildfire that burned around 5,000 acres in Passaic County NJ and Orange County NY. I was curious to know the amount of precipitation (rain and snow) that fell over the Jennings Creek Wildfire so I went to the NWS Weather Forecast Office, New York New York that covers northeastern NJ, New York City, Long Island and some of the lower hudson valley in New York including Orange County. I found their liquid equivalent (includes rainfall and the liquid equivalent of snow fall) in a post on their account on the X platform (formerly known as Twitter) shown below. 

Check out snowfall and liquid equivalent reports here:https://t.co/U855D1ezMFhttps://t.co/XLMUQhDUNv

— NWS New York NY (@NWSNewYorkNY) November 22, 2024

You should be able to where you should be able to access the first link “11_22_rainfall_pns.pdf” which is the statement with liquid equivalents. You will see two figures for Warwick in Orange County New York of 1.84 inches and 2.30 inches. Looking at the data for Passaic County, I did see a report in the immediate vicinity of this wildfire, but if the reports for Ringwood and West Milford omitted northern Passaic County are any indication than it stands to reason that the fire area in New Jersey may have seen over 1.5 inches of liquid equivalent. This will certainly help to extinguish the surface fire burning within the containment lines. In addition, the rain and snow fall has wetted down leaves, twigs, needles and other detritus that might spark a wildfire. 

While I am very grateful for the rain and snow that we have had I am concerned about what might happen if we again go into a period of no or limited precipitation. While I believe that wildfires might be less likely to happen in the winter, they can happen.

2024 New Jersey Wildfire Season: Jennings Creek Wildfire - Voluntary evacuations in Orange County NY

November 18th

Direct link to video from Eyewitness News ABC7NY

One of the first things I did this morning was to go the Town of Warwick's (NY) Facebook page. In an update posted in the early evening of November 17th on the Town of Warwick Facebook page they say that the state of emergency is extended one more day at least through November 18th, schools are closed, local roads remain closed and voluntary evacuations remain in place for November 18th. The local middle school is an evacuation site. The voluntary evacuations are in place so that firefighting apparatus can easily access the areas that they need to in order to contain the fire. No homes are damaged and no homes are currently threatened

November 17th

Direct link to video from CBS New York on YouTube

On the night of November 16th, the Jennings Creek fire at least came close to jumping containment lines in Orange County New York causing voluntary evacuations of more than 100 homes. The video I embedded above appears to be from morning news on November 17th.

The good news is that according to the Town of Warwick's morning update on Facebook that I share below  efforts to protect structures last night in what Warwick officials are calling the Sterling Forest Fire were successful and no structures are currently threatened.

Earlier updates on the Jennings Creek Wildfire

• November 15th & 16th
• November 14th
• November 12th & 13th
• November 11th
• November 10th
• November 9th

2024 New Jersey Wildfire Season: Jennings Creek Wildfire Passaic (NJ) and Orange (NY) Counties: November 16th update

 Here are links to my other posts on the Jennings Creek Wildfire

• November 17th
• November 14th
• November 12th & 13th
• November 11th
• November 10th
• November 9th

November 16th update

I wrote yesterday (scroll down the page) that the Jennings Creek Wildfire burned 2,283 acres in New Jersey and reached 90 percent containment in New Jersey. I am interested in acreage burned and containment for the New York side of the wildfire. The Mid Hudson News in a November 16th article reported that a total of 4.700 acres have burned, I assume they mean across New York and New Jersey. Both PIX11 and NJ Advance Media (this is a gifted article good until Nov 23rd) are reporting that the wildfire is 90 percent contained on the New Jersey side and about 65 percent contained in New York on the New York side. NJ Advance Media reports that 2,400 acres have burned in New York, agreeing with what the Mid Hudson News reported. I point out that while I think that these three media sources got their numbers from press conferences by wildfire officials in both states, I myself have not had any access to these press conferences or other means of official information from NY officials in charge of fighting the wildfire. But I am comfortable enough with the reporting of the three media outlets to write this post. 

You may want to take some time read the articles from NJ Advance Media and the Mid Hudson News, both have photo galleries. The Mid Hudson News article talks about the efforts of fire fighters from around the region as well as wildland firefighters from Montana and Colorado, they also discuss how the fire was fought in New York. The New Jersey Advance Media article discusses today's red flag warning for all of New Jersey and the lower Hudson Valley of New York from 7 AM on November 16th to 6 PM on the 16th, and that even when the fire is fully contained the fire will continue to burn until there is significant precipitation and that there will be smoke.

November 15th update

Direct link to video from CBS New York on YouTube

With 75 percent containment of the Jennings Creek Wildfire in NJ (see my November 14th for more information) and the ongoing efforts of the crews in New Jersey and New York, progress has been made in fighting this wildfire. I don't have current information on containment of the portion burning in New York, but I know that there is some containment on the New York portion of the wildfire. I know from media reports that burn out operations are being conducted as a part of the strategy to control the fire. According to this wildfire glossary from Inciweb, a burn out is "setting fire inside a control line to widen it or consume fuel between the edge of the fire and the control line" and a control line is "all built or natural fire barriers and treated fire edge used to control a fire."  I understand from media reports that there were two Chinook helicopters capable of dropping 6,000 gallons of water working this fire yesterday.  If you watch the video I embedded above you will hear one of the NY wildland firefighters discuss this strategy.

Thanks to some wildland firefighters on social media. I learned about an article on NorthJersey.com about the science of fighting wildfires and how this is being used on the Jennings Creek Wildfire, there are also a couple of photo galleries. Go here to read the article

I found a video that I thought you might enjoy footage of a Chinook helicopter flying over this wildfire along with footage of the wildfire, I embed this video below for your enjoyment.

Direct link to video by Michael J Desk of FreedomNewsTV-NYC

I also find a nice video of a reporter that was embedded with the wildland firefighters on Thursday. I really enjoyed this video giving me an inside look at the conditions that our wildland firefighters faced fighting the Jennings Creek Wildfire. I had to edit this part of the post because the video I originally shared is no longer available. Fortunately I found what appears to be the same video on CBS Mornings YouTube Page and I hope that the link and the embedded code to display the video continues to be available.

Direct link  to video from CBS Mornings on YouTube 

Kudos to all the wildland firefighters from NJ and NY and all the local fire companies who have been working this fire. I have a huge amount of respect for all of you and I am keeping you in my prayers. 

The New Jersey Forest Fire Service posted their final update for the Jennings Creek Fire at 1:15 PM on November 15th. The wildfire burned 2,283 acres in New Jersey and is 90 percent contained. No structures are threatened and there were no evacuations. Earlier their were 2 residences threatened and 8 structures in the Long Pond Ironworks Historic District. Local road closures will continue until November 16th. Trails in the vicinity of the wildfire remain closed. New Jersey Forest Fire crews will remain on the scene of the wildfire for the next several days to shore up containment lines and address any concerns. The New Jersey Forest Fire Service remains in unified command with the New York Department of Environmental Conservation. If significant developments occur on the New Jersey side of this wildfire the NJ Forest Fire Service will post updates an their social media accounts. At the time I write this, I have no new information on the status of the New York side of the fire. I assume that they are continuing to do burn out operations. Here is the direct link to the final update for this wildfire by the New Jersey Forest Fire Service on Facebook that I have shared below.

2024 New Jersey Wildfire Season: Jennings Creek Wildfire Passaic (NJ) and Orange (NY) Counties: Update #3

For my earlier reports on the Jennings Creek Wildfire see these posts:

• November 12th & 13th
• November 11th
• November 10th
• November 9th

November 14th update

Direct link to video from NJ Spotlight News on YouTube

Thanks to my friends at the B10 NJ Wildland Fire Page for sharing this video on their webpage this morning. In watching this short video update on the Jennings Creek Wildfire uploaded on November 13th, I see that they too mention that the New York side of the wildfire has burned 2,100 acres. This confirms what I read in a NJ Advance Media (updated at 7 PM on November 13th) where they also mention that the wildfire has burned 2,100 acres in New York. In the 7:10 PM update I wrote on my November 12th & 13th update on the Jennings Creek Wildfire, I referred to the 7 PM update that the NJ Forest Fire Service posted on Facebook reporting that the NJ side of the wildfire has burned 2,283 acres. Adding these two figures together we arrive at total acreage burned of 4,383 acres. Finally, I went to the Mid Hudson News that covers the Hudson Valley region of New York where the Jennings Creek is burning where I found a nice photo story of the Jennings Creek Fire including three videos that include some footage of helicopter drops. 

I found a second article on the Mid Hudson News, dated on the afternoon of November 14th with an update on the operations on the New York side of the fire. News 12 New Jersey has an article with a video dated November 14th with updates on the New Jersey and the New York side of the wildfire, go here to read the article.

In this evenings update on Facebook from the NJ Forest Fire Service (shared below) acreage burned remains at 2,283 acres and the wildfire is 75 percent contained in New Jersey. There are no structures in New Jersey threatened, down from 2 structures threatened yesterday. Local road closures remain as do hiking trail closures in the wildfire vicinity. I have no specific information on the portion of the wildfire burning in New York at this time, no containment information and no mention of acreage burned on the NY side today, and I am not sure about the status of any threatened structures.

All my other posts on the Jennings Creek Wildfire

• November 17th
• November 15th & 16th 
• November 12th & 13th
• November 11th
• November 10th
• November 9th

2024 New Jersey Wildfire Season: Jennings Creek Wildfire Passaic (NJ) and Orange (NY) Counties: Update #2

For my earlier reports on the Jennings Creek Wildfire see these posts:

• November 11th
• November 10th
• November 9th

November 13th, 7:10 PM

Scroll down to see my early updates from this morning and the evening of November 12th.

Unfortunately, I have not been able to find any local media who covered today's press conference with the New Jersey Forest Fire Service and the New York Department of Environmental Conservation. I am disappointed because I would of liked to share it with you. Anyway, the NJ Forest Fire Service reports in tonight's update that acreage burned in New Jersey remains at 2,283 acres, acreage burned in New York is not available from the sources I have access to. I just found an article on NJ Advance Media (updated at 7 PM on November 13th), they are reporting that the NY side of the wildfire has burned 2,100 acres, I am mentioning this figure because in reading the updated article, it sounded like the reporters were at today's joint press conference. Containment fire-wide in New Jersey and New York has increased to fifty percent. Local road closures continue as to hiking trail closures. Threatened structures in New Jersey has decreased to two residential structures, down from ten. The number of any structures threatened on the New York side is not available from my sources. I forgot to mention yesterday that two New Jersey firefighters were injured one with smoke inhalation who was treated at a hospital and the other with an injury that was treated on site and he returned to duty. Direct link to Facebook post from the NJ Forest Fire Service with this evening's update shown below.

November 13th, 11:10 AM

Scroll down to see my update from the evening of November 12th.

No changes in the status of the Jennings Creek from the New Jersey Forest Fire Service. Containment over the entire wildfire area in NJ and NY is at 30 percent. Acreage burned in New Jersey remains at 2,283 acres, information from the NY side of the wildfire is not available. Local road closures continue as do closures of hiking trails near the wildfire. The New Jersey Forest Fire Service and the New York Department of Environmental Conservation will host a press conference at 12 PM today. I do not think it will be streamed, but I will look at local media for videos of the press conference and if I find any I will post them in a new post this evening. Direct link to this morning's update from the New Jersey Forest Fire Service shown below.

November 12th, 6:45 PM

I watched a video of the press conference the given by the NJ Forest Fire Service and local officials on the Jennings Creek Fire. I took some notes.  Due to the winds from today's red flag conditions, they NJFFS did not conduct any burn out operations, but they do have boots on the ground building line. The fire is burning in a very remote, rock, difficult to access "wilderness area". There has been progress made by NJ crews in suppressing the fire. Forty-eight apparatus from 5 counties are assisting in the fire. NJ did surveillance of the fire in the air, satellite imagery, and boots on the ground, 2,283 acres have burned in NJ, they did not have numbers for NY at the time of the press conference. You might want to check out the video of the press conference from Fox5NY (embedded below), allow about 12 minutes for the video

I also watched a 17 minute video of a press conference by NY Governor Kathy Hochul and NY officials discussing the NY side of the Jennings Creek Fire. 

Direct link to video from CBS New York on YouTube

Moving on to this evenings update from the NJ Forest Fire Service. As a result of better mapping of the fire from surveillance has resulted in arriving at  2,283 acres burned in the New Jersey side (Passaic County) of the Jennings Creek Wildfire. I heard this in this afternoon's press conference. Acreage burned in the New York side (Orange County) of the wildfire is not available. Over the whole Jennings Creek Wildfire (NJ & NY), there is 30 percent containment, up from 20 percent. Two residential structures in New Jersey are threatened and eight structures in the Long Pond Ironworks Historic District are threatened, there are no evacuations. One local road is closed and hiking trails in the vicinity of the wildfire are closed. The NJ Forest Fire Service has a helicopter with a 350 gallon bucket. I think but am not certain that New York has four helicopters, I am not certain of the size of the buckets. Direct link to Facebook post from the NJ Forest Fire Service with this evening's update shown below

All my updates on the Jennings Creek Wildfire

• November 17th
• November 15th & 16th
• November 14th
• November 12th & 13th
• November 10th
• November 9th

2024 New Jersey Wildfire Season: Jennings Creek Wildfire Passaic (NJ) and Orange (NY) Counties: Update #1

For my earlier reports on the Jennings Creek Wildfire see these posts:

• November 10th
• November 9th

November 12, 9 AM

No changes in the numbers for the Jennings Creek Wildfire from the NJ Forest Fire Service's morning update on Facebook (shared below). As of 9 AM the Jennings Creek Wildfire has burned 3,500 acres and is 20 percent contained. In response to questions in their morning update on Facebook about the acres burned by the Jennings Creek Wildfire, the NJ Forest Fire Service said 

The New Jersey Forest Fire Service anticipates that the Jennings Creek Wildfire will grow to at least 5,000 acres before reaching 100% containment. However, the most recent mapping conducted by the New Jersey Forest Fire Service indicates the fire currently spans 3,500 acres in both New Jersey and New York. Rainfall slowed the fire’s growth overnight from Sunday, Nov. 10, into Monday, Nov. 11. As forest fuels dry out and the main body of the fire continues to spread, and the Forest Fire Service conducts burnout operations to aid containment, the fire’s size is expected to increase.

Red Flag Warnings are in effect for the fire area, Orange County NY and Passaic County NJ until 6 PM on November 12th. Road and trail closures continue and 10 structures are threatened in New Jersey, 2 are residences. I do not know if the 14 structures 0n the NY side of the wildfire remain threatened. Helicopters with buckets continue to work the fire as long as winds today will allow. 

November 11, 7 PM

You may want to go to my November 10th post on this wildfire where I made three entries with November 10th updates and a fourth entry for the November 11th morning update

Direct link to video from CBS New York on YouTube

Before I discuss this evenings update from the New Jersey Forest Fire Service, I want to comment that I listened to two videos of two press conferences with officials overseeing this fire, both are from CBS New York, an 18 minute video of a press conference with NY officials and an 11 minute video with NJ officials, both occurred today, November 11th. I noted that the NY official said that they had done aerial reconnaissance this morning mapping the fire at 5,000 acres in both states. The NJ official had not yet discussed the aerial reconnaissance and could not address the question of the New York official saying the wildfire had burned 5,000 acres, he was sticking to the 3,000 acre figure. Note that the media is reporting the 5,000 acres burned figure. The NJ official said that because of difficulty accessing the rough terrain where the fire is burning that they were not sure where the fire started, this is different from what I reported in my 7 PM  update. I will speculate is that it is still too early since the fire started to know these details for sure. In following wildfires for years, I do know that fire size can vary as they get better mapping and the like. As they say, more will be revealed.

Looking at the 7PM update from the NJ Forest Fire Service on Facebook (embedded below) at least 3,500 acres have burned (up from 3,000 acres earlier this morning) and containment has increased to 20 percent. Ten structures in New Jersey are threatened with no evacuations. There are local road closures. I am uncertain about the status 14 threatened structures in New York referred to in earlier updates. The New Jersey Forest Fire Service and the New York Department of Environmental Conservation Division of Forest Protection and Fire Management are in unified command, meaning that both states work together and coordinate their efforts. There are a few helicopters with buckets, one from New Jersey with a 350 gallon bucket, working this fire in support of the crews on the ground. Local fire departments from both states are also onsite.

All my other posts on the Jennings Creek Wildfire

• November 17th
• November 15th & 16th
• November 14th
• November 12th &13th
• November 10th
• November 9th

2024 New Jersey Wildfire Season: Jennings Creek Wildfire, Passaic County NJ & Orange County NY: Fatality and Update

My other posts on the Jennings Creek Wildfire

• November 17th
• November 15th & 16th
• November 14th
• November 12th & 13th
• November 11th
• November 9th

November 11, 10:30 AM

The numbers on the Jennings Creek Wildfire are unchanged from the evening of November 10th; 3,000 acres have burned, the fire is at 10 percent containment and twenty-five structures are threatened. Some rain fell on this fire last night, not enough to extinguish the fire but the showers did provide a much needed rest for some of the wildland firefighters working this fire, crews are back on the fire today. A helicopter with a 350 gallon bucket will be working the fire today. Scroll down to see yesterday's updates and a video of yesterday's press conference. Direct link to NJFFS Facebook post shown below.

November 10th, 7:00 PM

Direct link to video from CBS 2 New York on YouTube

The Jennings Creek Fire has burned 3,000 acres in Orange County, New York and Passaic County, New Jersey. The New Jersey Forest Fire Service and the New York Department of Environmental Conservation Division of Forest Protection and Fire Management are in unified command on this wildfire. Currently the wildfire is at 10 percent containment The wildfire started in New York on Saturday and the north wind blew the fire into New Jersey into a difficult to access area. Structure protection is ongoing. There are no evacuations at this time in either New York or New Jersey. The video from LiveNOW from Fox that I embedded above covers 14 minutes of a press conference from earlier this afternoon about the Jennings Creek Wildfire. It is worth the time to listen to if you want to learn some details about the wildfire. Direct link to NJFFS Facebook post shown below.

November 10th, 2:50 PM

I begin with the very sad news that one firefighter from the New York State Parks, Recreation, and Historic Preservation Department died on the afternoon of November 9th while working the Jennings Creek Fire in the New York side of the wildfire

Acreage burned has increased to 2,500 acres while the number of threatened structures has increased to twenty-five (from 10 yesterday). At the time of the NJ Forest Fire Service update about three hours ago, there were no evacuations. Local road and trail closures continue. A helicopter with a 350 gallon bucket is working the fire. This fire crossed the State line from Orange County, New York to Passaic County, New Jersey sometime on Saturday, November 9th. Direct link to NJFFS Facebook post shown below.

2024 New Jersey Wildfire Season: Jennings Creek Wildfire, Passaic County NJ & Orange County NY (Initial Post)

My other posts on the Jennings Creek Wildfire

• November 17th
• November 15th & 16th
• November 14th
• November 12th & 13th
• November 11th
• November 10th

November 10, 6:40 AM

One firefighter has died in New York fighting the Jennings Creek Wildfire. Direct link to Facebook post from the Eastern Dutchess County Fire and Rescue show below.

NJ Advance Media report late Saturday, September 9th.

November 9, 8:30 PM

Direct link to Facebook post from the NJFFS shown below

November 9, 2:30 PM

This just in, another new wildfire, the Jennings Creek Wildfire has burned 1,800 acres in West Milford, Passaic County NJ and in Orange County, NY. There is no containment. Ten structures are threatened, two residences and 8 structures in the Long Pond Ironworks Historic District. A helicopter with a 350 gallon bucket. There are local road closures and all trails in the Long Pond Ironworks State Park and Tranquility Ridge are closed. NorthJersey dot com has a recent article about this fire that may be found here; in addition they have some photos and a short video of the Cannonball 3 Wildfire that is burning in Pompton Plains, Passaic County. NBC 4 NY has an article about todays new wildfires (including the Jennings Creek Wildfire) and other recent wildfires that may be found on this webpage. Direct link to Facebook post from the NJFFS shown below.

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: Wildfires in New England

 I am very mindful of the fact that while New Jersey continues to see an increased risk of wildfires today (see this Oct 28th Special Weather Statement from the NWS at Philadelphia/Mt. Holly) that portions of New England are also experiencing an increased risk of wildfires according to a Special Weather Statement issued by the NWS at Boston/Norton MA earlier this morning (I think this link may change as soon as a new SWS is issued, sorry). 

I do want to share some videos of wildfires in Connecticut, Massachusetts and New Hampshire. I start with Connecticut where I wrote about Connecticut and the Hawthorne Fire in Berlin on October 25th. I want to thank my friends at the B10 NJ Wildland Fire Page who shared these videos earlier this morning on their daily video page. Thanks to all the wildland firefighters and mutual aid responders for working these wildfires and keeping us safe.

1. Connecticut

Direct link to video from WTNH on YouTube

2. Massachusetts

Direct link to video from CBS Boston on YouTube

3. New Hampshire

Direct link to video from WMUR on YouTube

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

A little more about wildland firefighting in Maryland

After returning from a short trip to the Chesapeake Bay area of Maryland on Friday, I was curious to see what I could learn about wildland fires in Maryland. It did not take me long to find the Maryland DNR's Forest Service Wildland Fire Page. Fire season peaks in the spring and the fall, similar to others areas in the mid-atlantic region. They have a nice downloadable page on wildfire behavior in Maryland

The first thing I checked out was their history page (pdf), the Maryland Forest Service was founded in 1906, the same year they started to fight wildfires. At one time there were many fire towers in Maryland, only a few currently remain. Today Maryland DNR has much of the same equipment and vehicles as other wildland fire fighting agencies: engines of various sizes and dozers along with GPS capability and vastly improved communications.

Finally, I was curious about the acreage burned by wildfires in Maryland. I found no information on wildfires in 2022, but perhaps I was not looking in the right place. I did find a page of wildfire statistics with annual reports from 2004 to 2021. I looked at the 2021 Wildfire Summary Report by the Maryland DNR. What follows is some information from the 2021 report:

• 102 fires burned 1,363 acres. 
• Looking at acreage burned, seven fires in January burning 973.8 acres, the second highest month was December where 17 fires burned 211 acres. 
• Current v ten year average
• number of fires: 102 wildfires in 2021, ten-year average is 122.4
• acreage burned: 1,363 acres burned in 2021 compared with a ten-year average of 1,947.5
• There is an active prescribed burning program with 2,769.2 acres in the 2021 prescribed burning program scattered across the state.

What I did not post here was the information that can be found in the daily intelligence briefings from the Eastern Area Coordination Center. I did take a peak at their EACC Detailed Situation Report by Protection Area (daily at least during fire season). There is a wealth of information in this report for the states in the Eastern Region. For example, in the report dated September 18, 2022, I saw that the 2 human-caused fires burned 18 acres in the Blackwater National Wildlife Refuge which I visited last week. I believe but am not certain there have been 12 prescribed burns in the Blackwater National Wildlife Refuge to date for 2,156 acres burned.

Finally, I did get the feeling that as in other States, local fire companies provide mutual aid as needed to the Maryland DNR firefighters. I do not know what aerial resources Maryland uses to fight and/or observe wildfires. I do not mean to imply that are no aerial resources, just that I do not know about such resources.

I know that I am barely touching the surface of fighting wildland fires in Maryland. I do so to show that I am interested. I am hoping to follow a social media site that might help me keep in touch with Maryland and Delaware wildland fire news. 

2021 wildfire season crew videos: Midewin Hotshots

I think that all wildland fire and engine crews are special, and I always try to honor what all of you as you work to keep us safe from wildfires, sacrificing time away from your family and loved ones. That being said, I do my best to pay special attention to the Midewin Interagency Hotshot Crew, based out of the Midewin Tallgrass Prairie in Wilmington, Illinois, located in the area served by the Eastern Area Coordination Center. I live in New Jersey, one of the States served by the EACC.

Around this time of year, wildland fire crews are releasing their videos summarizing their 2021 wildfire season. I like these videos because I get a small insight into what each crew does during their fire season. I know that some of you share my interest in these crew videos, and I am not the only one who shares these videos. I recently came across the 2021 crew video from the Midewin Interagency Hotshots, and I think it appropriate that theirs is the first 2021 crew video that I am sharing with you. Allow just under eight minutes for the video. Thanks Midewin Hotshots for your service, enjoy your time off with your loved ones. 

Direct link to YouTube video from The Midewin Hotshots

2021 wildfire season: Greenwood Fire (September 14th)

 I was scanning the Eastern Area Coordination Center this morning, noting the large number of wildland fire fighters from the eastern area and elsewhere that were or still are deployed to the Greenwood Fire in northeastern Minnesota in the Superior National Forest. fire including but not limited to fire crews, engines and modules from New Jersey, Pennsylvania, Montana, Arkansas, New Hampshire, Minnesota. Wisconsin, Utah, Illinois, Wyoming, Michigan, Iowa, and Maryland. 

Obtained on September 15, 2021 from Inciweb - Greenwood Fire Maps

I had written a couple of posts in August on the Greenwood fire, see for example my August 25th and August 27th posts. Here is some updated information on the Greenwood Fire from Inciweb: at the time I write this the fire has burned 26,797 acres and is at 75% containment, at least some roads in the area are open and some evacuation orders remain in place. Fourteen residences and 57 outbuildings have been destroyed. There is a report on the Greenwood Fire from CBS3Duluth (September 14) and some images of the area burned.

US National Weather Services are national resources: thanks for deployments to Minnesota

If you have followed my posts on NWS Incident Meteorologists, over the last couple of years you have probably noticed that many of the deployments are in the western United States, see my most recent IMET post here and all of my IMET posts are found under this tag . I am here today to say and reinforce that NWS Incident Meteorologists are a national resource, IMETs are deployed anywhere in the United States as needed and may also be deployed overseas (see this post for more information on IMET deployments to Australia in January 2020.

Today I write as someone who lives in the area served by the Eastern Area Coordination Center where Minnesota is located. I have been following the Greenwood Fire  that continues to burn in the Superior National Forest. To date 25,991 acres have burned and it has yet to be contained. I was thrilled to read on an August 18 Facebook post by the US National Weather Service IMET Office that an IMET from the US National Weather Service in Bismarck North Dakota  exactly when this deployment ended.

On August 28th, an IMET from the US National Weather Service in Tampa Bay Florida was deployed to the Greenwood Fire. So at least for the last two weeks, there has been an IMET working on the Greenwood Fire providing onsite forecasts for the area burned by the Greenwood Fire. These site specific forecasts are important to provide the necessary fire weather forecasts that will help wildland firefighters be safe and to be appraised of upcoming weather conditions that will affect the fire. 

My inspiration for this article is a report with video from CBS3 in Duluth Minnesota, “Behind the scenes: On-scene Meteorologists watch the weather to in Northland to help fire crews". Thanks to the US National Weather Service IMET office on Facebook for pointing me to this video.

As a resident of a state that falls within the area served by the Eastern Area Coordination Center, I want to thank the IMETs for your service in the east. It means the world to me. I know that if the need should ever arise in New Jersey and adjoining States and we need an IMET that we will get one. 

2021 wildfire season: Greenwood Fire (MN) update (August 27th)

I have been writing about the Greenwood Fire (Superior National Forest, MN) that as of late this morning has burned 25,591 acres. There are reports that a number of structures have been lost, see the August 26th report from ABC News. Bill Gabbert of Wildfire Today did his usual fine job reporting on the Greenwood Fire in his August 26th post. As you can see from this short report from WDIO (August 25th), Volunteer Fire Departments from Ely MN and elsewhere in Minnesota have responded to the Greenwood Fire.

2021 wildfire season: Greenwood Fire (MN) update (August 25th)

 I continue to try to follow the Greenwood Fire that continues to burn in northern Minnesota, I wrote about this fire on August 18th when it had burned approximately 3,200 acres with evacuations in place. As I write this, the latest information on this fire from Inciweb"s Greenwood Fire page is that it has burned 21,720 acres in the Superior National Forest near Duluth, Minnesota. Evacuations are still in place. Of note is the fact that I have been reading about the Greenwood Fire in some newspapers I subscribe to, see for example this August 24th article from the New York Times. This August 21st article from the Washington Post discusses the closure of the nearby Boundary Waters Wilderness.

Here are two short videos about the Greenwood Fire. The first video is an August 25th operational briefing from Cory Henry, Operations Section Chief Trainee, Eastern Area Type 2 Incident Management Gold Team about the Greenwood Fire. Here is a direct link to the video on Facebook.

The second video is an August 24th video report from KARE 11 with some awesome fire footage.

Direct link to video from KARE11

2021 wildfire season: IMET deployments as of August 19th

I have been thinking about the many wonderful NWS Incident Meteorologists who are currently deployed to wildfires, most but not all in the western United States, providing crucial weather forecasts for the area burned by a specific wildfire so that wildland firefighters on the ground and in the air will be alerted to upcoming weather so that they can be as safe as possible.

I contacted the US NWS IMETs recently asking them how many IMETs are currently deployed to wildfires including trainees. This is their response on Thursday evening, August 19th:

Currently we have about 30 qualified IMETs and 4 trainees out.  We have another 8 en route to incidents or to swap other IMETs out as they time out.

IMET deployments (obtained from US NWS IMETs Facebook Page on August 20th) from August 16th through August 19th include:

• Antelope Fire  burning in the Klamath National Forest near McCloud, Oregon
• McCash Fire burning in the Six Rivers National Forest near Somes Bar, California
• Caldor Fire burning in the Eldorado National Forest near Plymouth, California
• Monument Fire burning in the Trinity National Forest near Del Loma, California (2 IMETs)
• Ford Corkscrew Fire burning near Springdale, Washington
• Greenwood Fire burning in the Superior National Forest near Duluth, Minnesota
• Burnt Peak Fire burning in the Kootenai National Forest near Troy, Montana
• Bulldog Mountain Fire burning in the Colville National Forest near Colville, Washington
• Dixie Fire burning in the Lassen National Forest near Susanville, California
• Twenty Five Mile Fire burning in the Okanogan-Wenatchee National Forest near Wenatchee, Washington
• McFarland Fire burning in the Shasta-Trinity Forest near Wildwood, California

IMETs typically are deployed for two weeks, some wildfires have two IMETs (not including IMET trainees). Thanks to all the IMETs deployed to wildfires. Thanks so much for your service during what may be challenging conditions. IMETs save lives.