PUMPTON LAKES, NJ — Firefighters on both coasts of the United States continued to battle wildfires on Sunday a fire in New York and New Jersey killing one park employee and another in Southern California, destroying more than 130 structures and damaging dozens of others.
Firefighters continued to make progress against a wildfire northwest of Los Angeles in Ventura County that broke out Wednesday quickly exploded in size due to dry, warm and gusty Santa Ana winds.
The Mountain Fire asked thousands of residents have fled their homes and was 26% under control as of Sunday, up from 21% the day before. The size of the fire remains about 32 square miles (about 83 square kilometers). The cause is being investigated.
“The fire continues to crawl and smolder in steep, rugged terrain. Threats remain to critical infrastructure, highways and communities,” said the California Department of Forestry and Fire Protection, known as Cal Fire.
Meanwhile, New York State Police said they were investigating the death of Dariel Vasquez, an 18-year-old state parks employee who died Saturday afternoon when a tree fell on him as he battled a large wildfire in Sterling Forest, located in New York. Greenwood Lake in the state near the New Jersey line.
“Rip brother, your shift is over, well done,” said a message from the New York State Forest Service.
Jeremy Oldroyd, a New York state ranger, said Vasquez died “while assisting with fire line construction.”
“Wildlife firefighting is a very dangerous profession and we try to take as many precautions as we can to reduce the hazards associated with wildfires. But occasionally accidents happen,” he says.
The New Jersey State Forest Fire Department said Sunday that the blaze — called the Jennings Creek Wildfire — threatened 25 structures, including two homes in New Jersey. It had grown to 12 square kilometers and was 10% contained as of Sunday evening.
Health advisories were issued for parts of New York, including New York City, and northeastern New Jersey due to unhealthy air quality caused by smoke from the fires. People were urged to limit strenuous physical activities outdoors if possible; those who are particularly sensitive include the very young and very old people and those with conditions such as asthma and heart disease.
But there was progress on other fires.
New Jersey officials reported that a 70-acre fire in the Pompton Lakes area of Passaic County that threatened 55 homes had been 75% contained, although no evacuation order had been issued, and that progress had been made other fires in the region. stands amid bone-dry conditions.
In New Jersey, Ocean County prosecutors on Saturday filed arson and firearms charges in connection with a 142-acre fire in Jackson Township that started Wednesday.
They said the fire was sparked by magnesium shards from a shotgun on the edge of a shooting range. Officials said firing those types of “incendiary or tracer munitions” was banned in the state. Most of the fire is under control, officials said Friday.
In Massachusetts, one of several wildfires, fueled by high winds and dry leaves, has burned hundreds of acres in the Lynn Woods Reservation, a municipal park that extends across about 3 square miles (8.8 square kilometers) into the city, about 10 miles (16 kilometers). north of Boston.
The Lynn Fire Department called it “a dry spell that we haven’t seen this time of year in years.”
“We have burned more than 400 hectares of forest so far. We believe we have the fire under control via the main fire routes. We will remain present to ensure the fire does not spread further,” Lynn Fire Chief Dan Sullivan said in a statement late Sunday.
He said windy and dry conditions “definitely made it a challenge,” even as he asked people to stay away from the burned areas. “There are far too many weakened trees and we don’t want the public to get hurt,” he added.