NEW YORK – Another Fire Weather Watch will be in effect this weekend as New York City’s Tri-State is the driest in nearly 120 years, creating perfect conditions for wildfires to ignite and grow in bone-dry areas that are not yet of significant size known. rain since August.

This has prompted New Jersey to issue a drought warning, close a school district and send smoke billowing over the New York skyline. Even residents who are not threatened by the flames smell the smoke and are bothered by the poor air quality.

GO TO: FIRE FORECAST | WILDFIRE CARDS | JENNINGS CREEK FIRE | NYC BRUSH FIRES | DRY WARNING

The Jennings Creek Fire in NJ

Here you will find the latest news about weather conditions and wildfires in New York and New Jersey.

Heightened fire service concerns remain Friday in Northeast New Jersey, the Lower Hudson Valley, New York City and Long Island.

A look at the fire warnings issued in the North East through Tuesday. (FOX Weather)

According to the weather forecast, there will be no significant rain in New York City in the coming days. Fortunately, the US Climate Prediction Center says next week looks relatively wet for the eastern third of the US

AirNow has an interactive fire and smoke map for updates on fires in your area. The National Interagency Fire Center also partners with NASA to provide real-time interactive fire maps.

24-hour Tri-State fire map. (Caught Thursday evening)

Air quality map

This map from AirNow.gov shows current air quality in the New York City area. Click HERE if you are having trouble viewing the embedded map.

Jennings Creek Fire: Passaic County, NJ, and Orange County, NY

Fire crews continued their efforts to contain a wildfire in a forest on the New Jersey-New York border that has burned about 7 square miles (12.5 square kilometers) in the two states.

The wildfire ravaging the New Jersey-New York border in Passaic and Orange counties, dubbed the Jennings Creek Fire by New Jersey officials, is now 75% contained.

The wildfire began spreading this weekend and has so far destroyed nearly 2,300 acres in New Jersey and about 5,000 acres overall.

WEST MILFORD, NEW JERSEY, UNITED STATES – NOVEMBER 9: Smoke and flames rise as wildfire burns and spreads on a mountain in West Milford, New Jersey, United States on November 9, 2024. Large flames have engulfed the mountain and more than 2,000 acres caught up

New York Governor Kathy Hochul imposed a statewide burn ban on Wednesday, and all of Orange County is under a state of emergency. All schools in Greenwood Lake, New York, are closed Thursday and Friday.

Despite making profits, crews are reportedly exhausted. Hundreds of firefighters worked for days at Sterling Forest State Park, some working 12-hour shifts.

“They probably won’t get the rest they need, but hopefully they’ll hang in there,” said NJ State Fire Marshal Bill Donnelly. “It’s definitely taking a toll on them, but I think we’ll get through it.”

No homes were damaged, but Greg McLaughlin, an administrator with the New Jersey Forest Fire Service, said rugged hilly terrain, combined with few road access points, made it difficult to fight the fire from the ground. Water dropping helicopters were deployed in both states. And firefighters in New York took advantage of the changing wind direction on Wednesday by starting a controlled series of fires to burn away brush and leaves that could serve as fuel.

The FDNY reported responding to 229 wildfires since Oct. 29. According to the department, this is the largest number of responses in a two-week period in the city’s history.

On Wednesday, a wildfire in Upper Manhattan sent smoke billowing across the New York City skyline.

NEW YORK, NY – NOVEMBER 13: The FDNY is battling a wildfire that broke out in Inwood Hill Park in Manhattan on Wednesday afternoon. (Photo by Lokman Vural Elibol/Anadolu via Getty Images)

The FDNY described the Inwood Park Brush Fire as “insidious.” No injuries have been reported and the fire appears to be under control, although the department reports they expect some hot spots to remain through Thursday morning. Firefighters said they had to stretch hose lines more than 150 feet and use water from the Harlem River.

Wildfires delayed Amtrak train service between New York City, Philadelphia and Washington, DC on Wednesday. The railroad says service has now been restored.

“Due to a significant lack of rainfall, the threat of rapidly spreading wildfires, fueled by dry vegetation and windy conditions, poses a real threat to our members and our city,” Fire Commissioner Robert S. Tucker said in a statement.

New York City issued a drought warning last week. Mayor Eric Adams called on residents to take shorter showers, fix dripping taps and save water in other ways.

Only 0.02 inches of rain fell last month in the city’s Central Park, which normally sees about 11.2 inches of precipitation in October. New York said it was the driest October in more than 150 years.

New Jersey Governor Phil Murphy has issued a drought warning for the state and asked people to take voluntary conservation measures such as taking shorter showers, turning off the tap while brushing teeth and waiting until the dishwasher is full to run it.

“Please take this seriously,” Murphy said. “We have a very dry winter ahead of us.”

But it did not include mandatory restrictions on water use, which would be introduced in the event of a drought emergency, the highest alert the government can impose.

State geologist Steven Domber told the Associated Press that water levels are dropping across New Jersey.

“They are well below the long-term average and are on a downward trend,” he said. “They will continue to fall over the coming weeks unless there is significant rainfall.”

He said about half of New Jersey’s public water systems are experiencing near-normal water demand, but 40% are experiencing higher than normal demand.

It could take 10 inches of rain to meaningfully improve conditions in New Jersey, officials said. But the predictions do not argue for this.

Fire arrests

Late Wednesday, police in the Philadelphia suburb of Evesham Township said they had charged a juvenile with intentionally setting an Oct. 30 fire that burned less than a tenth of a square mile. The juvenile, whose age was not released, was arrested Nov. 7 and taken to a juvenile detention center.

On New York’s Long Island, a 20-year-old volunteer firefighter was charged Tuesday with intentionally lighting a brush fire, damaging a parked car, Suffolk County police said in a news release.

Firefighter Jonathan Quiles has been suspended and if convicted, he will be fired from the Medford Fire Department.