wildfire

Many — who have had several close calls with wildfire before — knew instantly that this could spell disaster.

“The great majority of homes that burn in wildfires are already in flaming ruins by the time the fire reaches the town,” said Chad Hanson, a wildfire scientist and the director and principal ecologist at the John Muir Project.

A brief drizzle Sunday evening gave firefighters a short break but did not make a long-term dent in drought conditions or wildfire risks.

The Catskill watershed is experiencing its largest wildfire on record, with nearly 650 acres burned.

The Jennings Creek wildfire, on the border of New York and New Jersey, has burned 5,000 acres so far.