States across northeastern US put on red alert for deadly wildfires

Several northeastern states have been put under a red flag fire warning after experiencing unseasonably warm weather and dry and windy conditions.

The National Weather Service (NWS) initiated the wildfire watch for Connecticut, Massachusetts and northern Rhode Island Wednesday morning.

This type of warning means that ‘critical fire weather conditions are either occurring now, or will shortly and any fires that start may spread rapidly and become difficult to extinguish,’ according to the NWS.

Connecticut is currently battling two fires that have caused the death of one firefighter and injured two.

The red flag warning is the first to be issued in New England since May 2023 and will extend for the next two weeks and is scheduled to lift on November 7.

New Jersey has also been placed under stage three fire restrictions that effectively bans campfires, picnic barbeques and charcoal fires in parks until further notice.

‘So the fire weather concerns we are experiencing now may be with us another couple of weeks,’ weather service EWeather said on X. 

‘Add in some wind like we’ll have today and we get a red flag warning highlighting the dangerous conditions which can cause fires to rapidly spread’ due to excess of leaves on the ground and gusts of wind reaching 20 to 30 miles per hour.

The NWS reported that the continued lack of rainfall across Connecticut has significantly increased the chances of fires spreading in the area.

Officials have already reported that two wildfires have spread, covering nine acres in Vernon and extending across 80 to 90 acres of land on Lamentation Mountain in Berlin.

To combat the fire, the Connecticut National Guard and Maine Forestry Division is deploying water drops using a Chinook and Black Hawk helicopter on Wednesday and Thursday.

This year is ‘shaping up to be one of the worst fall brush fire seasons we’ve seen in a long time,’ EWeather reported on X.

‘I expect we are likely to see additional red flag warnings issued over the coming days,’ the weather outlet added.

Although the area may experience isolated showers on Thursday and Saturday morning, the NWS reported it won’t help the dry conditions. 

Red flag fire warnings in New England are uncommon this time of year and are usually more prevalent in the spring because of rising temperatures, gusty winds, dry grass and people spending more time building campfires outdoors.

Massachusetts and Rhode Island residents have also been warned to ‘be careful during this dry stretch’ and shouldn’t throw cigarette butts out the window or burn fires outside.

A wildfire spread across 80 to 90 acres in Berlin, Connecticut this week, killing one firefighter and injuring two others

People have been warned not to burn fires outdoors or throw cigarette butts out of their car windows for fear they could start brush fires

The dry and arid weather is caused by a jet stream that’s been stuck over New England since early September.

This has created high pressure that is forcing the air to sink from above, resulting in fewer clouds and causing a lack of rain in the area.

The positive news is that the dry climate is posing less of a problem now than it would have if the same lack of rainfall occurred during the summer months.

However, Boston is experiencing the seventh driest fall since records were first recorded in 1872 and if the area receives no rain through Halloween, it would make it the second driest September and October on record.

Likewise, northern New Jersey is facing drier than normal conditions and is under a fire watch after a wildfire broke out in Morris County over the weekend, burning nearly 80 acres of land.

As of Tuesday evening, the wildfire was 90 percent contained although it’s cause remains unknown.

The state has now issued a drought watch for all 21 counties after three months of below-average rainfall, with no relief in sight.

The weather is expected to be equally dry with warmer than usual conditions across New England through the end of the month and into early November.