New Jersey

Brush fire burning in Englewood Cliffs amid red-flag warning, drought conditions

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A brush fire is burning in Englewood Cliffs with the smoke from it visible across the Hudson River in Manhattan.

The fire is burning in the area of the Palisades Interstate Parkway in Bergen County, according to the New Jersey Forest Fire Service.

The fire is 30 percent contained and 19 acres in size, the fire service reports. No structures are threatened and no evacuations are in place.

Chopper 4 flew over the fire and witnessed a NJ Forest Fire Service helicopter dropping 350 gallons of water at a time on the fire.

Chopper 4 flew over a fire in Englewood Cliffs, New Jersey capturing the moments the Forest Fire Service dropped water.

The cause of the fire is under investigation.

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Drought conditions in New Jersey

The Englewood Cliffs fire is just one of several large fires burning in New Jersey as the state grapples with drought conditions and red-flag warning during this period without rain and higher tempertures.

The tri-state area is withering in a prolonged and increasingly extreme drought situation. 

It started in September, when we got off to a very dry start. We ended the month with a large rain deficit. And then came October, We got a whopping 0.01 inch of rain, making October the driest calendar month in Central Park since record-keeping began in the 1860s.

So far, November is not breaking the mold. A week into the month and we’re still waiting for our first drop of rain, which could come late in the weekend.

he staggering extended run of dry weather has led to worsening drought in the tri-state area. The latest update to the drought monitor on Thursday shows every county within the area now under at least moderate drought conditions.

Severe drought in New Jersey has expanded from South Jersey into Central, and even parts of North, Jersey. And for the first time since Oct. 2002, parts of New Jersey are now suffering extreme drought conditions. That includes Ocean County.

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