Upper Manhattan brush fire at Inwood Hill Park flares up overnight
NEW YORK -- A brush fire at Inwood Hill Park in Upper Manhattan broke out again overnight, but firefighters had it back under control before daybreak.
The FDNY said reports of smoke and flames came in just after 2:30 p.m. Wednesday from a large area inside the park, near Seaman Avenue and West 207th Street. It took 140 firefighters and EMS personnel four hours to put out the blaze.
Around 2 a.m. Thursday, the northern edge of the park went back up in flames near the Henry Hudson Toll Booth Plaza. Firefighters were still on the scene monitoring hot spots and were able to put the fire out again.
Officials said they faced many challenges due to the terrain, elevation, collapsing trees and water issues. Crews had to use water from the Harlem River to spray the side of a hill, and they stretched hose lines over 150 feet up a hill.
"Very treacherous conditions for our firefighters tonight. Very significant forestry, very significant grade hill," FDNY Commissioner Robert Tucker said.
No injuries have been reported. The cause is still under investigation.
NYC sees record number of brush fires
Tucker said the fire department has responded to more than 229 brush fires since Oct. 29, the highest amount in a two-week period in the city's history.
"As these dry conditions continue, we anticipate that we will see more of these," Tucker said.
Later Wednesday night, another fire began burning along 116th Street and Edgecombe Avenue in Washington Heights, and crews battled another brush fire at Alley Pond Park and Grand Central Parkway in Queens.
Drought watch and Red Flag Warnings
Along with other parts of the state, the city is under a drought watch due to a weeks-long dry stretch across the region. Less than 3 inches of rain have fallen in Central Park since September, and October was the driest month ever recorded in the city.
A Red Flag Warning was also issued for the area earlier this week, meaning the danger for fire is very high because of a combination of high winds and parched earth.