Wildfire threat in place for much of US Northeast as dry conditions persist

Firefighters in New York said on Sunday that a successful voluntary evacuation overnight helped them protect about 165 homes from a wildfire near the New Jersey border.However, New York City's fire department has taken the first-of-its-kind step of creating a brush fire task force to respond to what officials are calling a historic increase in brush fires occurring throughout the five boroughs, the FDNY commissioner announced. From November 1 to November 14, the FDNY responded to 271 brush fires across the city, marking the highest two-week period in New York's history."Due to a significant lack of rainfall, the threat of fast-spreading brush fires fuelled by dry vegetation and windy conditions have resulted in an historic increase of brush fires throughout New York City," Commissioner Robert S Tucker said in a statement.Windy conditions renewed a wildfire on Saturday that escaped a containment line and prompted emergency officials to enact a voluntary evacuation plan for a ...