Dry Brush, Gusty Winds Help Spread Brush Fires Near NJ TRANSIT Tracks In Harrison
KEARNY, N.J. (CBSNewYork) -- Firefighters continued working Wednesday evening to put out small brush fires and hotspots along Interstate 280 in Harrison, N.J.
The fire forced service on NJ TRANSIT and PATH trains to be suspended for more than an hour earlier Wednesday afternoon.
No injuries were reported, but strong winds were hindering efforts to contain the fire, officials said.
"It keeps on blowing the fire further down and you're trying to chase up to it," Harrison Fire Capt. Joseph Nichirco said. "So we put apparatus in front of it to try to contain it and try to work to the middle and put it out."
As CBS 2's Elise Finch reported, dry brush and gusty winds made the perfect conditions for brush fires, which scorched the brush and moved dangerously close to the train tracks. Gusts of up to 45 mph helped spread the flames.
Firefighters were called at 12:45 p.m. to put out multiple fires burning along 280 in Harrison.
The blazes were small but numerous and kept spreading with every wind gust.
"The winds makes it hard to combat," Nichirco said. "The fire is jumping over the tracks, the trains present a problem in that we want to keep the guys safe."
Firefighters from Harrison, Kearny, East Newark and the New Jersey Forest Fire Service all worked together to battle the brush fires, Finch reported.
There were also brush fires reported Wednesday in Rockland County, Westchester County, on Long Island and in other places.
Service had been suspended earlier on the Northeast Corridor, North Jersey Coast Line, Raritan Valley Line, Midtown Direct, Morris and Essex and Montclair-Boonton lines, but was been restored around 2 p.m.
PATH trains between Newark and Journal Square were also suspended for a time.
NJ TRANSIT and PATH trains were back to normal service by late Wednesday afternoon.
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