Forest ranger dies fighting fires; air quality warnings are issued in NY, NJ

On Sunday, firefighters on both U.S. coasts kept fighting wildfires, including one in Southern California that destroyed over 130 buildings and injured scores more, and another in New York and New Jersey that claimed the life of a park employee. Firefighters in Ventura County, northwest of Los Angeles, continued to make headway against a wildfire that started on Wednesday and rapidly grew in size because of dry, warm, and strong Santa Ana winds. As of Sunday, the Mountain Fire was 26% contained, up from 21% the day before, forcing thousands of homeowners to evacuate their homes. The area of the fire is still roughly 32 square miles, or 83 square kilometers. The cause is being looked into.

In the steep, rocky terrain, the fire is still smoldering and creeping. The California Department of Forestry and Fire Protection, or Cal Fire, states that there are still threats to cities, highways, and other infrastructure. Dariel Vasquez, an 18-year-old state parks employee, was fighting a large brush fire in Sterling Forest, which is in New York state’s Greenwood Lake close to the New Jersey border, when a tree fell on him Saturday afternoon. New York State Police said they were looking into his death. A forestry services post from New York State stated, “Rip brother, your shift is over. Job well done.”

According to New York State forest ranger Jeremy Oldroyd, Vasquez passed away “helping with fire line construction.” “We try to take as many precautions as we can to mitigate some of the hazards that are out there in the wildland fire environment because wildland firefighting is a very dangerous profession.” However, accidents do occur from time to time,” he noted. The state forest fire department of New Jersey reported on Sunday that the fire, known as the Jennings Creek Wildfire, was posing a threat to 25 buildings, including two residences in the state. By Sunday evening, it had expanded to 4.7 square miles (12 square kilometers) and was 10% contained.

Because of the terrible air quality caused by the smoke from the fires, health advisories were issued for sections of New York, including New York City, and northeastern New Jersey. The elderly and very young, as well as those suffering from conditions like heart disease and asthma, were advised to avoid excessive outdoor physical exertion. On some fires, however, there was progress. In the midst of bone-dry conditions, New Jersey officials reported progress on other fires blazing throughout the state, including the 75% containment of a 175-acre (70-hectare) fire in the Pompton Lakes area of Passaic County that was threatening 55 residences, despite the fact that no evacuations had been requested.

The 350-acre (142-hectare) Jackson Township fire in New Jersey began on Wednesday, and prosecutors in Ocean County announced charges of arson and weapons on Saturday. They claimed that magnesium fragments from a shotgun shell on a shooting range’s berm caused the fire. According to officials, it was illegal in the state to fire that type of “incendiary or tracer ammunition.” Officials said Friday that most of the fire has been contained.

The Lynn Woods Reservation, a municipal park that spans around 3.4 square miles (8.8 square kilometers) in the city about 10 miles (16 kilometers) north of Boston, has seen hundreds of acres burned by one wildfire among numerous others in Massachusetts that were fueled by strong wind gusts and dry leaves. “A dry spell we have not seen during this time of year in many years” was the reason given by the Lynn Fire Department.

So far, more than 400 acres of the forests have burnt. Using the main fire roads, we think we have the fire confined. In a statement released late Sunday, Lynn Fire Chief Dan Sullivan stated, “We will continue to be present to make sure the fire doesn’t spread further.” Windy and dry circumstances “certainly made it challenging,” he said, urging people to avoid the burned-out areas. “We don’t want the public to be hurt, and there are far too many weakened trees,” he continued.