Fire crews on both US coasts battle wildfires, 1 dead; Veterans Day ceremony postponed

POMPTON LAKES, N.J. (AP) — Fire crews on both coasts of the United States battled wildfires Monday, including a blaze in New York and New Jersey that killed a parks employee and postponed Veterans Day plans, and another in Southern California that destroyed more than 130 structures.

Firefighters continued making progress against a wildfire northwest of Los Angeles in Ventura County that broke out Wednesday and quickly exploded in size due to dry, warm and gusty Santa Ana winds.

The Mountain Fire prompted thousands of residents to flee their homes and was 31% contained as of late Sunday, up from 26% the previous day. The fire’s size remains around 32 square miles (about 83 square kilometers). The cause is under investigation.

Some people have been allowed to return to their homes, “but road closures, evacuation warnings, and orders remain in effect in some areas,” according to the Ventura County Fire Department. “Certain areas are open to residents only. As you return home, please watch for hazards such as live power lines and debris.”

Meanwhile, New York State Police said they were investigating the death of Dariel Vasquez, an 18-year-old state parks employee who died when a tree fell on him Saturday afternoon as he battled a major brush fire in Sterling Forest, located in New York state’s Greenwood Lake near the New Jersey line.

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“Rip brother your shift is over job well done,” a New York State forestry services post said.

New Jersey’s state forest fire service said Sunday that the blaze — dubbed the Jennings Creek Wildfire — was threatening 25 structures, including two New Jersey homes. It had grown to 4.7 square miles (12 square kilometers) and was 10% contained as of Sunday night.

In West Milford, New Jersey, a Veterans Day ceremony was postponed to later in the month because of the firefighting effort, said Rudy Hass, the local Veterans of Foreign Wars of the U.S. commander.

“Many of those personnel currently engaged with the fires are veterans themselves, and right now we need to keep them in our thoughts as they spend many hours, day and night, doing all they can in order protect our great communities in that area,” he posted online.

Health advisories were issued for parts of New York, including New York City, and northeastern New Jersey due to unhealthy air quality due to smoke from the fires. People were urged to limit strenuous outdoor physical activity if possible; those especially sensitive included the very young and very old and people with ailments such as asthma and heart disease.

But there was progress on other fires.

New Jersey officials reported 75% containment of a 175-acre (70-hectare) fire in the Pompton Lakes area of Passaic County that was threatening 55 homes, although no evacuations had been ordered, as well as progress made on other fires burning in the state amid bone-dry conditions.

In New Jersey, Ocean County prosecutors on Saturday announced arson and firearms charges in connection with a 350-acre (142-hectare) Jackson Township fire that started Wednesday. The blaze was largely contained by the end of the week, officials said.

They said that fire was sparked by magnesium shards from a shotgun round on the berm of a shooting range.

In Massachusetts, one wildfire among several fueled by powerful wind gusts and dry leaves has burned hundreds of acres in the Lynn Woods Reservation, a municipal park extending across about 3.4 square miles (8.8 square kilometers) in the city some 10 miles (16 kilometers) north of Boston.

The Lynn Fire Department cited “a dry spell we have not seen during this time of year in many years.”

“We have had over 400 acres of the woods that have burned so far. We believe we have the fire contained using the main fire roads. We will maintain a presence to ensure the fire doesn’t spread further,” Lynn Fire Chief Dan Sullivan said in a statement late Sunday.

The Northeast has been experiencing prolonged dry conditions. In New Jersey, the state Department of Environmental Protection is planning a hearing on Tuesday to review its water supply conditions. A major drought was declared in much of Massachusetts last week.