Brush Fires In Secaucus, Kearny Disrupt NJ TRANSIT, Amtrak Service
SECAUCUS, N.J. (CBSNewYork) -- Firefighters in New Jersey continued battling two brush fires Tuesday afternoon that broke out in Secaucus and Kearny earlier in the day.
Smoke could be seen for miles as the brush fires burned, CBS2's Elise Finch reported. Drivers could see the smoke and flames from the New Jersey Turnpike, while some homeowners could see it from their yards.
"We saw a billow of smoke from our back porch. We could see flames coming out the bottom, but as time went on you could see the flames rising higher and higher as it got closer and closer," Secaucus resident Adam Mustafa said.
The National Weather Service issued a red flag warning for the entire Tri-State area. Because a combination of strong winds, low relative humidity and dry brush created ideal conditions for any small fire to spread quickly. Secaucus Mayor Michael Gonnelli said that's exactly what happened here.
"Typically with these kinds of fires the main body of fire burns itself out really quick because of the lack of supply," he told WCBS 880. "A lot of these old Meadowlands were years ago dumps so you do get a lot of debris burning inside."
Gonnelli, who is also a volunteer firefighter, said it took more than 50 firefighters from at least six different companies to contain and extinguish the blaze. He said there was no property damage and no injuries, but estimates that at least 100 acres were charred.
"The most difficult thing today was the wind. So these fires spread really rapidly," he said. "A lot of these meadows in prior years were landfills so you're still gonna get tires and other debris burning. Firefighters will be out here for hours still putting out hot spots."
Because of the fires, NJ TRANSIT train service between Newark Penn Station was temporarily suspended, and later subject to 30 minute delays in both directions.
No NJ TRANSIT trains were getting into Manhattan earlier in the day. PATH was cross-honoring at Hoboken, Newark and 33rd Street in Manhattan.
Other NJ TRANSIT lines are experiencing delays of up to 30 minutes.
Amtrak Northeast Corridor service was suspended for about two hours between Penn Station and Newark. It was restored around 3 p.m. Tuesday, but customers were told to expect some residual delays.
The red flag warning is in effect until 8 p.m. Tuesday across the entire the Tri-State area. The National Weather said fires could easily spread and become difficult to extinguish because of strong winds and humidity levels as low as 20 percent.
