Black Hawk Helicopters Drop Over 100 Buckets Of Water On Local Wildfire

By Mrs. I. Perl

The National Weather Service has placed a Red Flag Warning about potential wildfires in the entire Lower Hudson Valley area and NYC that is in effect until tonight.

A Red Flag Warning indicates the high risk of a fire starting due to weather conditions. The combination of the recent lack of rain and the high winds and humidity predicted for today significantly raises the threat of a fire starting and spreading rapidly. Governor Hochul has issued a statewide burn ban that is in effect until the end of November and prohibits all outdoor burning activties.

The Orange County Jennings Creek fire at Greenwood Lake has now spread to 5,000 acres across New York and New Jersey and is the largest wildfire in New York since 2008. Another 42-acre fire  located near West Mombasha Road and the Appalachian Trail in Monroe is currently under control.

On Monday, 277 emergency responders were on scene to assist in fighting the Jennings Creek wildfire. The NY State Police and the NY Division of Military and Naval Affairs deployed two helicopters each to support the firefighters from the air. The two Black Hawk helicopters from the DMNA have buckets that can carry 660 gallons of water at a time, and over 100 buckets of water were dumped on the fire on Monday.