The wildfire along the New York-Massachusetts border is now contained, a spokesperson with the New York State Department of Environmental Conservation said Tuesday night.
Crews continued to put out the fire Wednesday, focusing on the interior, per the spokesperson.
At its peak, the fire encompassed approximately 251 acres, burning parts of New York State forest lands and areas along the Taconic Crest Trail. No one has been injured, and no homes or "high value assets" were destroyed, according to NYSDEC. Crews had to hike up to two miles just to reach the fire, and firefighters faced "really, really harsh terrain," NYSDEC said.
More than 120 firefighters from New York and Massachusetts battled the blaze. Crews worked night and day, using controlled burns and a Massachusetts National Guard Blackhawk helicopter that was capable of dropping 11,250 gallons of water.
Lower wildfire risk likely ahead
The next few days will likely be dry — no help for firefighters working to contain the blaze — but forecasting models for New York and Southern New England are "leaning towards a wetter scenario" for the next month or two, which would reduce fire risk, according to Ethan Burwell, a meteorologist at the New York State Weather Risk Communication Center at the University at Albany.
"I feel like that kind of lessens the probability of us exacerbating into a more severe drought like we saw in 2024," Burwell said Tuesday. "That being said, within that time period, that's an average of like wetter conditions. There certainly could be drier stints like we're seeing right now."
In 2024, wildfires near Great Barrington, Massachusetts burned about 1,700 acres of forest over the course of about two weeks.
It's difficult to predict what the spring fire season will be like in the Northeast, Burwell said. What's expected to be a strong El Niño will likely bring hotter temperatures and more moisture.
