The FDNY has contained a wildfire that ravaged a section of Inwood Hill Park in upper Manhattan on Wednesday.
Firefighters immediately rushed to the 197-acre park on the northern tip of Manhattan to put out the three-alarm blaze that started at around 3 p.m. on Nov. 13.
The fire damaged nearly four acres of brush on a hillside area of the sprawling park.
People passing by the area were the first to notice the fire and immediately called for help.
More than 140 firefighters and emergency services personnel worked well into Thursday to put out the fire, which was finally extinguished just after midnight. They battled intense flames and a terrain that made putting out the fire even more difficult, said FDNY Chief of Fire Operations Kevin Woods.
“We had many challenges here due to the terrain, the elevation, and we had water issues as well,” Woods said.
With no nearby fire hydrants, firefighters improvised by using water from the Harlem River.
“We had to stretch hose lines approximately 150 feet or more up a hill to extinguish multiple fires. We had multiple trees that collapsed and this operation was extremely dangerous for our members,” Woods said. “We used our drones to enhance the safety and identify the hot spots with the drones.”
FDNY officials there no injuries as a result of the incident.
@FDNY members operated at another brush fire Wednesday night, this time in Inwood Hill Park in Manhattan. The dry and windy weather in New York City continues to create prime conditions for these types of fires. Our members did a tremendous job at the labor intensive fire, and… pic.twitter.com/F13ycGCBan
— FDNY Commissioner Robert S. Tucker (@FDNYFC) November 14, 2024
While the exact cause of the fire is still unknown, sources close to the scene suspect the city’s ongoing dry spell is likely the cause or at least a contributing factor.
The FDNY has responded to 229 brush fires since Oct. 29 amid the dry spell. According to FDNY officials, this is the highest number of brush fires in a two-week period in NYC history.
“Due to a significant lack of rainfall, the threat of fast-spreading brush fires fueled by dry vegetation and windy conditions pose a real threat to our members and our city,” FDNY Commissioner Robert Tucker said.
The Inwood Hill Park fire follows a wildfire in Prospect Park on Friday that devastated a two-acre portion of the wooded Brooklyn area.
Earlier this month, Mayor Eric Adams issued a citywide drought watch, ordering city agencies to develop water conservation plans, and urged New Yorkers to conserve water.
