Residents Evacuated Because of Fire on New York-New Jersey Border
The New York Times
The voluntary evacuation plan was put in place in areas affected by the Jennings Creek wildfire. Officials encouraged residents of 165 homes to move out temporarily.
New York State issued the first voluntary evacuation for residents affected by the Jennings Creek wildfire on Saturday night after gusty winds blew the flames northeast, breaching a line that firefighters had put in place to contain the blaze.
The fire, which has swept through at least 5,000 acres of land in the past 10 days, warranted evacuations for two communities in Warwick, N.Y., a town about four miles from the New York-New Jersey border, according to Jeff Wernick, a spokesman for New York State’s Department of Environmental Conservation.
Officials asked residents in 35 homes along Greenwood Lake and another 130 homes in neighboring Wah-ta-Wah Park to leave the area as emergency personnel worked to control the fire, Mr. Wernick said.
It was unclear on Sunday how many people had evacuated, or whether any had returned to their homes. Some who left are sheltering five miles north at Greenwood Lake Middle School, while others found shelter elsewhere, Mr. Wernick added.
The voluntary evacuation will remain in effect until at least Monday, and schools will be closed Monday in Greenwood Lake.
The region has received little to no rainfall since Sept. 29, sparking brush fires that have swept across parts of New York, New Jersey and Connecticut and burned thousands of acres of bone-dry land. Each state has declared a burn ban that prohibits people from starting bonfires and burning refuse, tires or trash.
