A red flag warning is in effect from 12 p.m. to 8 p.m today for the entire tristate area.
Weather conditions today will be ideal for fire combustion and rapid fire spread, according to the National Weather Service. Winds are expected to blow north today at 10 to 20 miles per hour, with gusts up to 25 miles per hour and very dry conditions.
The National Weather Service warns that fire could spread rapidly if ignition occurs.
Residents should be “extremely careful” with open flames, according to the National Weather Service. Make sure you completely extinguish cigarettes before disposing of them. Avoid backyard burning for the duration of the red flag warning.
Spring is prime wildfire season for New York and the northeastern United States. The major 2012 wildfire in the Flanders and Manorville pine barrens took place in early April, burning more than 1,000 acres of land and requiring hundreds of firefighters to put out the blaze.