The Fires Come East
May 1st, 2006
Along with coyotes, anther phenomenon generally thought to exist mainly in more rural, drier and hotter places has come to New York City: the brush fire. In the first three months of 2006, New York City had more than 90 brush fires. And writes Peter Charles Hoffer, a University of Georgia professor and fire expert, in the Times, we should get used to more: “Global warming is bringing drier weather and increasing winds to the Northeast. High winds can superheat already dry grasses and brush, in effect preheating the landscape. As a result, the smallest brush fire can become a city-devouring inferno.”
Despite this, he writes, urban fire departments, including New York City’s, are not trained to deal with acres of hot burning grasses. But they must be, Hoffer says, warning “The impact of a wildfire could easily equal the impact of a storm like Hurricane Katrina, and we would be just as unprepared and as culpable for its catastrophic results.”
By Gail Robinson on May 1, 2006, 8:23 amIn category: Environment, Gotham City | 1 Comment »


May 14th, 2006 at 2:45 pm
Staten Island has been having brush fires since forever. The FDNY has also been extinguishing them since forever. The FDNY has special Brush Fire Units assigned to Staten Island. Professor Hoffer needs to get outside of Manhattan more. Sadly a few of the most recent brush fires were deliberately set.