Smoky Skies Linger Over the Northeast as Brush Fires Burn

It was a hazy weekend across some of the Tri-State region in the Northeast as wildfires continue to ignite and spread across this corner of the country. Here is what you need to know about this developing weather situation.

Smoky Haze Envelops New York City and Beyond

Visitors and residents of New York City were dealing with smoky conditions throughout the metro area over the weekend. Exceptionally dry weather has paired with unseasonably warm temperatures to elevate the risk of wildfires in the Northeast, particularly in the Tri-State region that encompasses New York, New Jersey, and Connecticut.

Fires first broke out in Brooklyn, the Bronx, and in New Jersey on Friday. New York Governor Kathy Hochul said that several wildfires were burning across the state, prompting widespread concern. The bulk of the fires were erupting on Long Island, in the Hudson Valley, and the Catskills. Hochul confirmed that she had triggered a multiagency response to fight the fires that were scorching hundreds of acres in Orange, Sullivan, and Ulster counties.

One forest ranger lost his life fighting a brush fire that was burning along the border of New York and New Jersey on Saturday night. The crews were battling a forest fire that broke out near the Greenwood Lake Turnpike in Orange County. According to the Eastern Dutchess County Fire and Rescue, a tree fell on the fire fighter and killed him.