A red flag warning in effect from noon to 8 p.m. today for Long Island and New York City.
The National Weather Service in Upton issued the red flag warning because a combination of strong winds, low relative humidity and dry fuels will create a significantly elevated fire growth potential, according to a statement from the weather service.
This combination of factors create what’s known as “critical fire conditions” that will likely cause any fires that develop to spread rapidly.
Northwest winds of 10 to 15 mph will gust up to 30 mph today, with relative humidity as low as 21%, according to the National Weather Service forecast.
Residents should be “extremely careful” with open flames, according to the National Weather Service. Make sure smoking materials are completely extinguished before disposal of them and avoid backyard burning.
Wildfires are a particular threat in spring when critical fire conditions in the region are more likely. A small fire can spread and burn hundreds of acres of woodlands.
The wildfire in the Manorville-Calverton-Ridge pine barrens April 9-10, 2012 burned more than 1,100 acres and destroyed three homes, a commercial building and several vehicles, including fire department brush trucks. The wind-driven wildfire took hundreds of firefighters from every department in Suffolk County to bring it under control, with the assistance of aviation units called in from other parts of the state. Three firefighters were injured, one with second-degree burns.
A red flag warning was in effect on the day the 2012 “Crescent Bow” wildfire started. Police determined that the fire, which started on land owned by Brookhaven National Laboratory in Ridge, was intentionally set. Police offered rewards totaling $10,000 for information leading to an arrest, but the case remains unsolved.
MORE COVERAGE: Ten years later: A look back at the wildfire that scorched more than 1,100 acres in Manorville, Ridge and Calverton
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