No new red flag warnings, but fire danger persists throughout Northeast

For the first time in days, the Northeast was under no red flag warnings, but officials cautioned that fire danger in the region remains high as drought conditions persist.

All red flag warnings, which signal critical fire weather conditions like strong winds and low relative humidity, were lifted throughout the Northeast Saturday evening as conditions improved following days of wildfires that broke out across New Jersey, New York, Connecticut and Massachusets.

The biggest wildfire in the Northeast remains the Jennings Creek Fire, burning on the border of New York's Orange County and New Jersey's Passaic County. The fire, which has burned more than 5,000 acres, prompted hundreds of voluntary evacuations Saturday night when it jumped a containment line near Greenwood Lake and threatened homes in the private beach community of Wah-ta-Wah Park, according to New York State Parks Department spokesperson Jeff Wernick.

On Sunday morning, Orange County fire officials said "efforts overnight to protect structures were successful and no structures are in danger."

Officials said water drops on the Jennings Creek Fire from New York Air National Guard Chinook and Black Hawk helicopters will produce more visible smoke on Sunday.

The Jennings Creek Fire was 88% contained on the New York side and 90% contained on the New Jersey side, officials said.

The blaze broke out Nov. 9 and burned drought-parched wildland stretching from West Milford in Passaic County, New Jersey, to the Sterling Forest State Park in New York's Orange County, and on both the New York and New Jersey sides of Greenwood Lake, officials said.

The cause of the Jennings Creek Fire remains under investigation.

A New York State Parks and Recreation employee was killed earlier this month while helping the battle the Jennings Creek Fire, officials said. The deceased parks employee was identified by the New York State Police as 18-year-old Dariel Vasquez.

Wind gusts, which have helped fan the fire, are forecast to be lighter on Sunday, peaking at 15 to 25 mph, and relative humidity is expected to be slightly higher, allowing for some relief for firefighters. Temperatures will also top out around 10 to 20 degrees above average on Sunday and Monday, with temperatures rising to the low to mid 60s.

But the prolonged period of dry weather is expected to persist with no measurable rainfall expected in the Northeast until possibly Wednesday or Thursday. While any rain is beneficial, there is an increasing chance for an inch or more of rain from the upcoming storm, with some higher-elevation snow also possible in New England late in the week.

Since Oct. 1, New Jersey firefighters have responded to at least 537 wildfires that have consumed 4,500 acres, according to the New Jersey Forest Fire Service, while officials at the New York State Department of Environmental Conservation said New York fire crews have battled 60 wildfires since Oct. 1 that have burned 2,100 acres.

At one point last week, the National Weather Service had issued numerous red flag fire danger warnings throughout New Jersey and New York. At least 15 New York counties were under red flag warnings last week, including New York City and all of Long Island.

Multiple wildfires broke out across the Northeast, including some in New York City, where one ignited in the Inwood neighborhood of upper Manhattan and another scorched wooded land in Brooklyn's Prospect Park.

Due to the high fire danger, New York Gov. Kathy Hochul issued a statewide ban on outdoor fires.

The rash of fires in New York City prompted the New York Fire Department to create the first "brush fire task force" in the department's 100-year history, FDNY Fire Commissioner Robert S. Tucker said.

Tucker said the task force will involve a dedicated team of fire marshals, fire protection inspectors and tactical drone units that will "help ensure rapid and effective responses to brush fires, conduct comprehensive investigations to help determine the cause and origin of each fire, and enhance data and information sharing to prevent fires from occurring."

"By creating this task force, we are taking real action to prevent brush fires from occurring, putting protocols in place to keep our members safe while they are in the field, and working to identify the causes of these fires after they happen to keep New Yorkers safe in the future," Tucker said in a statement. "I also want to urge New Yorkers to follow our important safety tips and help us reduce the chances of a brush fire occurring."

Elsewhere in the country, a developing storm system in the Southern Plains is forecast to bring a severe weather threat to parts of Texas and Oklahoma on Sunday and Monday.

On Sunday afternoon and into the evening, strong to severe storms are likely in cities across Texas, including Wichita Falls, Abilene and Midland. The thunderstorms are also expected to bring damaging wind, large hail and scattered tornadoes.

Severe weather is also forecast for Monday in the Oklahoma City area and Waco, Texas. A flood watch is in effect from northern Texas through Oklahoma until Monday evening, with 2 to 5 inches of rain likely.