New York region battles series of wildfires

Photo: Bryan R. Smith Agence France-Presse The fires have multiplied since the beginning of October and have burned three times more hectares, nearly 4,500, compared to 1,600 on average in New Jersey.

Andréa Bambino – Agence France-Presse in New York

Published yesterday at 20:27 Updated yesterday at 21:32

• United States

The New York region is facing a series of wildfires of rare vigor for the northeastern United States, due to a particularly long drought that is also putting water supplies to the test.

“The reality is that the drought we’re experiencing is just one example of how climate change is impacting our land today, not in the distant future, but right here and right now,” New Jersey Gov. Phil Murphy, a Democrat, said at a press briefing Wednesday.

Since Friday, firefighters in New York and New Jersey have been battling wildfires that have burned thousands of acres around the Jennings Creek forest, an hour’s drive from Manhattan’s skyline.

The fires killed an 18-year-old New York State Parks worker Saturday, who was likely killed by a falling tree while he was helping with the fires.

Driven by winds and low humidity, the fires are burning have multiplied since the beginning of October and have burned three times more hectares, nearly 4,500, compared to 1,600 on average in New Jersey.

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Photo: Kena Betancur Getty Images Agence France-Presse Since Friday, firefighters have been battling fires around the Jennings Creek forest river, an hour's drive from Manhattan's skyscrapers.

The great city of New York has not been spared. Firefighters, some aboard a boat, were battling a large brush fire in the large Inwood Hill park, far north of Manhattan, on Wednesday night.

Saving water

The lack of rain is not helping matters. While Hurricane Helenedevastated areas further south in late September, killing at least 101 people in North Carolina, and New York and the surrounding area saw no significant rainfall in September and October, and no rainfall in November.

“We haven't seen a drought like this in the northeastern United States in over 20 years,” Brian Fuchs, a climatologist at the National Drought Center at the University of Nebraska-Lincoln, told AFP.

Local authorities have urged residents to conserve water. New York's 8.5 million residents are being urged to report open fire hydrants, take shorter showers, and only flush toilets when necessary.

Barbecues in public areas have also been banned, while fires, quickly brought under control, also broke out this weekend in Prospect Park, the great green lung in the heart of Brooklyn.

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“A very dry winter awaits us”

New York is supplied with water by reservoirs around the region's rivers, which reached 62% of their capacity on Wednesday, compared to 79.2% under normal circumstances.

“Unfortunately, it appears that these unseasonably dry conditions are not going to end anytime soon, as all indications are that a very dry winter lies ahead,” New Jersey's governor said.

Other officials, like Murphy, have blamed the drought on climate change.

For Brian Fuchs, a drought is not entirely unusual in the northeastern United States. “But temperatures are higher because of climate change. And those higher temperatures can contribute to droughts that we didn't see in the past,” he told AFP.

“We're going from very wet to very dry periods and back again more and more quickly,” he added.