In the northeast, new wildfires have erupted amid extremely dry weather, adding to several that have already arisen and have claimed at least one life. Meanwhile, large-scale fires have broken out in California and other western states in the U.S.
In California, firefighters have made progress in battling a fire northwest of Los Angeles in Ventura County, which started on Wednesday and spread rapidly due to the dry, warm, and gusty Santa Ana winds. The East Coast has experienced a shortage of rainfall since September, leaving the soil parched and prone to fires that will persist until significant precipitation or frost arrives.
The dense smoke from the fires has caused poor air quality and health alerts in parts of New Jersey and New York. In Massachusetts, firefighters are struggling to contain several fires amid strong winds and a prolonged drought. One of them, known as the Mountain Fire, was about 50 percent contained on Tuesday, nearly a week after it began.
The 83-square-kilometer fire has mainly affected homes and structures, destroying nearly 200 and damaging more than 80 according to official reports. Massachusetts authorities have noted that the around 200 fires they have had to manage this month were caused by human activities, urging the public to refrain from igniting fires to prevent further spread.
A park employee lost their life in a fire near the New York-New Jersey border over the weekend, and several firefighters were injured battling other fires in the region. The complexity of locating and extinguishing the fires has forced teams to navigate difficult terrain, such as dense forests, rural roads, lakes, and steep hills. Authorities are investigating the causes of these natural disasters to implement preventative measures in the future.
