A fire in Prospect Park, Brooklyn broke out in a woodland ravine on the evening of Friday, November 8th. This comes on the heels of the red flag warning across the tristate area earlier in the day, and a drought watch across the city at the beginning of the month.
The blaze began around 6:40 pm and the FDNY deployed specialized brush fire units and drones. Although about 100 firefighters were combating the flames, professionals predicted that the battle to extinguish the flames would likely take all night, according to The New York Times.
“Every time the wind gusts up, we get an ember that creates more fire,” Robert S. Tucker, the Fire Department’s commissioner, told the outlet. “This is going to be a long night, and we’re going to be in here until the morning.”
At this time — 10:30am on Saturday, November 9th — no injuries have been reported and the fire is out.
An alert from Prospect Park read, “Please use caution in accessing the park. Open fires and smoking are prohibited in the park, and any fires should be reported immediately to 911. NYC Parks and Prospect Park Alliance are assessing the damage in the area impacted by the fire, and will share with the community ways to help.”
Additionally, the message thanked all of those who took action during the emergency: “According to FDNY, the fire is now extinguished, but engulfed a roughly two-acre area, with 106 Fire and EMS Personnel on scene. We thank the FDNY, NYPD and its sister agencies who responded quickly to the situation and got the fire under control.”
The FDNY encouraged locals in the area to keep their windows closed last night, and New Yorkers should continue to preserve their water usage during this drought by limiting shower times, fixing leaks, not leaving water from the faucet running, and so forth.
Mayor Eric Adams, who was on the scene on Friday night, is also encouraging New Yorkers to continue to follow the guidelines issued from the drought watch.
“I want to assure New Yorkers that we are prepared,” he said on X (formerly Twitter). “Our specialized @FDNY brush fire units are equipped and ready to respond to these types of emergencies. But we’re also asking New Yorkers to do their part by conserving water and immediately reporting any fires by calling 911.”
The weather in NYC has been unseasonably warm, In fact, it was one of the driest Octobers on record and the warmest Halloween since 1946. We only received 0.01 inch of rainfall last month.
This is a developing story. Please check back for more.