Many think wildfires are a West Coast disaster - but climate change now puts the East Coast at more risk

Amid one of the worst droughts the region has seen, East Coast states of New York and New Jersey were battling wildfires last weekend - and researchers say climate change will only make it worse. The fires sparked amid windy weather, warm temperatures and extremely dry conditions. Smoke from New Jersey’s 3,000-acre JenningCek was captured from space and the massive plume could be seen from upstate New York.

A brush fire started in Brooklyn’s Prospect Park Friday night, burning two acres of dry vegetation at the popular spot. New York City firefighters battled the blaze for hours before it was extinguished. Upstate, 18-year-old Dariel Vasquez was killed Saturday while batting a fire in Sterling Forest.



While many associate wildfire season with western states, fire weather is becoming more common in the Northeast, according to nonprofit Climate Central . The group said Monday that parts of northern New Jersey and coastal New York are experiencing at least 10 additional days of fire weather each year compared to ng the 1970s. These threats come after the second-warmest October in the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration’s 130 years.

A record 87 percent of the nation was either in drought or unusually dry conditions. However, the greatest increase in fire weather days is happening during spring. Across the nation, the threat of wildfires is rising, Climate Central noted.

“Wildfire seasons are lengthening and intensifying, particularly in the West. Many parts of the East have seen smaller but impactful increases in fire weather days,” the group noted in a recently released report. Hot temperatures can add fuel to the fire and make them more likely to ignite, the group stated.

They added that low overnight humidities help firefighters gain control over fires, but the number of low humidity overnights is decreasing. The low humidity levels also leave vegetation dry and prone to burning. Wind is also helping spread fires and supplying oxygen that helps them burn more rapidly.

Fortunately for the Northeast, some precipitation Sunday night has put a kibosh to that drought, and the National Weather Service says cooler temperatures are on the way. The agency’s New York City office saw its highest rainfall totals since late September. The New York City Fire Department said it has responded to hundreds of brush fires in the five boroughs over the last few weeks.

Mayor Eric Adams has banned grilling in public parks as a result. The wildfires also brought unhealthy air quality for the area’s millions of residents, who were advised to close their windows and mask up while outdoors. The skies in the Big Apple, while still mostly blue on Saturday, were tinted by the smoke.

"Anyone who has a lung ailment, these fires ...

can really be devastating. It can really make someone get very sick very quickly. Now, that's not to say that normal healthy people may not get sick, but they're much less at risk," said Dr.

Anthony Saleh, a pulmonologist at New York-Presbyterian Brooklyn Methodist Hospital told CBS News ..