Current:Home > NewsFire crews on both US coasts battle wildfires, 1 dead; Veterans Day ceremony postponed -ProsperityStream Academy
Fire crews on both US coasts battle wildfires, 1 dead; Veterans Day ceremony postponed
View
Date:2025-04-13 13:03:36
POMPTON LAKES, N.J. (AP) — Fire crews on both coasts of the United States battled wildfires Monday, including a blaze in New York and New Jersey that killed a parks employee and postponed Veterans Day plans, and another in Southern California that destroyed more than 130 structures.
Firefighters continued making progress against a wildfire northwest of Los Angeles in Ventura County that broke out Wednesday and quickly exploded in size due to dry, warm and gusty Santa Ana winds.
The Mountain Fire prompted thousands of residents to flee their homes and was 31% contained as of late Sunday, up from 26% the previous day. The fire’s size remains around 32 square miles (about 83 square kilometers). The cause is under investigation.
Some people have been allowed to return to their homes, “but road closures, evacuation warnings, and orders remain in effect in some areas,” according to the Ventura County Fire Department. “Certain areas are open to residents only. As you return home, please watch for hazards such as live power lines and debris.”
Meanwhile, New York State Police said they were investigating the death of Dariel Vasquez, an 18-year-old state parks employee who died when a tree fell on him Saturday afternoon as he battled a major brush fire in Sterling Forest, located in New York state’s Greenwood Lake near the New Jersey line.
“Rip brother your shift is over job well done,” a New York State forestry services post said.
New Jersey’s state forest fire service said Sunday that the blaze — dubbed the Jennings Creek Wildfire — was threatening 25 structures, including two New Jersey homes. It had grown to 4.7 square miles (12 square kilometers) and was 10% contained as of Sunday night.
In West Milford, New Jersey, a Veterans Day ceremony was postponed to later in the month because of the firefighting effort, said Rudy Hass, the local Veterans of Foreign Wars of the U.S. commander.
“Many of those personnel currently engaged with the fires are veterans themselves, and right now we need to keep them in our thoughts as they spend many hours, day and night, doing all they can in order protect our great communities in that area,” he posted online.
Health advisories were issued for parts of New York, including New York City, and northeastern New Jersey due to unhealthy air quality due to smoke from the fires. People were urged to limit strenuous outdoor physical activity if possible; those especially sensitive included the very young and very old and people with ailments such as asthma and heart disease.
But there was progress on other fires.
New Jersey officials reported 75% containment of a 175-acre (70-hectare) fire in the Pompton Lakes area of Passaic County that was threatening 55 homes, although no evacuations had been ordered, as well as progress made on other fires burning in the state amid bone-dry conditions.
In New Jersey, Ocean County prosecutors on Saturday announced arson and firearms charges in connection with a 350-acre (142-hectare) Jackson Township fire that started Wednesday. The blaze was largely contained by the end of the week, officials said.
They said that fire was sparked by magnesium shards from a shotgun round on the berm of a shooting range.
In Massachusetts, one wildfire among several fueled by powerful wind gusts and dry leaves has burned hundreds of acres in the Lynn Woods Reservation, a municipal park extending across about 3.4 square miles (8.8 square kilometers) in the city some 10 miles (16 kilometers) north of Boston.
The Lynn Fire Department cited “a dry spell we have not seen during this time of year in many years.”
“We have had over 400 acres of the woods that have burned so far. We believe we have the fire contained using the main fire roads. We will maintain a presence to ensure the fire doesn’t spread further,” Lynn Fire Chief Dan Sullivan said in a statement late Sunday.
The Northeast has been experiencing prolonged dry conditions. In New Jersey, the state Department of Environmental Protection is planning a hearing on Tuesday to review its water supply conditions. A major drought was declared in much of Massachusetts last week.
veryGood! (411)
Related
- Cincinnati Bengals quarterback Joe Burrow owns a $3 million Batmobile Tumbler
- Two Navy SEALs are missing after Thursday night mission off coast of Somalia
- Colombia landslide kills at least 33, officials say
- Ukraine says it shot down 2 Russian command and control aircraft in a significant blow to Moscow
- New data highlights 'achievement gap' for students in the US
- Deal reached on short-term funding bill to avert government shutdown, sources say
- Indonesia evacuates about 6,500 people on the island of Flores after a volcano spews clouds of ash
- UK government say the lslamist group Hizb ut-Tahrir is antisemitic and moves to ban it
- Why members of two of EPA's influential science advisory committees were let go
- Packers vs. Cowboys highlights: How Green Bay rolled to stunning beatdown over Dallas
Ranking
- Biden administration makes final diplomatic push for stability across a turbulent Mideast
- A Cambodian court convicts activists for teaching about class differences, suspends their jail terms
- India’s main opposition party begins a cross-country march ahead of a crucial national vote
- Phoenix police shoot, run over man they mistake for domestic violence suspect
- Chuck Scarborough signs off: Hoda Kotb, Al Roker tribute legendary New York anchor
- Could Callum Turner Be the One for Dua Lipa? Here's Why They're Sparking Romance Rumors
- Judge says Trump can wait a week to testify at sex abuse victim’s defamation trial
- Winter storms bring possible record-breaking Arctic cold, snow to Midwest and Northeast
Recommendation
'As foretold in the prophecy': Elon Musk and internet react as Tesla stock hits $420 all
Haley fares best against Biden as Republican contenders hold national leads
Why are there no Black catchers in MLB? Backstop prospects hoping to change perception
NFL wild-card playoff winners, losers from Sunday: Long-suffering Lions party it up
Google unveils a quantum chip. Could it help unlock the universe's deepest secrets?
Critics Choice Awards 2024: The Complete Winners List
US delegation praises Taiwan’s democracy after pro-independence presidential candidate wins election
Archeologists uncover lost valley of ancient cities in the Amazon rainforest