WEST MILFORD, N.J. — Windy conditions renewed a wildfire that escaped a containment line and prompted emergency officials to enact a voluntary evacuation plan for a small number of houses in a community near the New York-New Jersey border on Saturday.
The voluntary evacuation enacted out of “an abundance of caution” impacted about 165 houses in Warwick, N.Y., as firefighters continued working to tame the Jennings Creek blaze, New York Parks Department spokesman Jeff Wernick wrote in an email Saturday night.
A local school was being used as a shelter for residents, New York State Police Troop F said in a statement.
“Multiple surrounding fire departments are assisting with firefighting efforts. State Police Drone Unit is on scene providing aerial assessments,” the statement said.
On Friday, the wildfire was 90 percent contained on the Passaic County, N.J., side of the border, and about 70 percent contained in Orange County, N.Y., officials said.
The wildfire had burned 7½ square miles across the two states as of Friday, although New York officials said that number was likely to increase as stronger winds were forecast for the weekend.
On Saturday, Wernick said New York Army National Guard helicopters dropped 21,000 gallons of water and a New York State Police helicopter dropped nearly 900 gallons.
The fire was burning primarily in Sterling Forest State Park, where the visitor center, the lakefront area at Greenwood Lake and the historic furnace area remained open but woodland activities including hunting were halted, Wernick said, noting that residences around the lake have not been impacted.
A National Weather Service forecast for Warwick did not call for rain until Wednesday night. Firefighters previously said they will remain on the scene until significant rainfall occurs.
The blaze claimed the life of an 18-year-old New York parks employee who died when a tree fell on him as he helped fight the fire in Sterling Forest on Nov. 9. The fire’s cause remains under investigation.
New England states also were under red flag alerts for wildfires this weekend.
