Despite Days of Rain, Drought Warning Remains in Effect, Adams Says

Despite several days of rain, Mayor Eric Adams said the draught warning remains in effect.

“Drought warning, still in effect,” Adams said at his weekly City Hall press briefing on Nov. 26. “People say, well, it rained. Why can’t we lift it? We need a heck of a lot more rain than what we saw.”

The warning came after the city saw its longest stretch without rain in recorded history.

In Manhattan, a brush fire had erupted in Inwood Hill Park on Nov. 13 in northern Manhattan, destroying trees in one of the last natural forest lands left in Manhattan.

The nearly 200 acre park rises 200 feet above the Hudson River from Dykman St. north near the convergance with the Harlem River and contains a salt marsh one of the last native forests in Manhattan. It includes the the Shorakapok Preserve Shorakapkok means ‘the sitting place’ in the Munsee language spoken by the Wecquaesgeek tribe who inhabited the area for nearly 700 years.

Unlike Central Park and other parklands in Manhattan that have man made contours, the Inwood Hills Park is largely natural with non-landscaped hills although it does have a soccer field.

The FDNY dispatched 80 firefighters to battle the flames which wasn’t brought under control until the next day after four acres of the historic park was turned into charred rubble. It used drones and the FDNY specialized brush fire unit. Robert Tucker, the new FDNY commissioner said at the time that the FDNY had fought 229 brush fires across the city this year, compared to 200 a year ago.

“We had many challenges due to the terrain and elevation and water issues,” FDNY Chief of Operations Kevin Woods said at a press conference on Nov. 13.

“There aren’t any fire hydrants in the forest, so we had to draft water from the Harlem River and stretch hose lines 150 feet or more up a hill to put out the blaze.”

The fire in Inwood was not deemed suspicious.

Officials say despite the recent rainy days, it will require up to eight inches of rain to bring the depleted reservoirs that supply the city’s drinking water upstate back to its normal state.

“We’re nowhere near where we ought to be this time of the year,” Eric Adams said at the Nov. 26 press conference.

“So it’s important. We know we have several suspensions, particularly flames being used in our parks. And we really are asking people to conserve water as much as possible.

He first announced that there was a drought “watch” on Nov. 2 and it moved to a drought “warning” on Nov. 18.

Then as brush fires erupted in Brooklyn and in the Inwood section of northern Manhattan, the warning added more stringent measures including no fireworks by Nov. 20.

“As our region faces worsening drought conditions, we are now in a drought warning posture and urgently call on all New Yorkers to remain vigilant and take immediate action to protect our city,” said the city’s chief of staff and extreme weather coordinator Camille Joseph Varlack in announcing the stricter measures tied to the drought warning on Nov. 20.

Adams on Nov. 20 had cautioned: “We can’t do this alone—in addition to conserving water, we need New Yorkers to be particularly cautious if you choose to grill, smoke, or undertake other activities that involve open flames.” He added: “This is absolutely not the year to try deep-frying your turkeys.”

Regarding fireworks, NYC Parks cancelled all previously-issued permits for fireworks displays or open flames in city parks and the FDNY said it will review previously-issued permits for those activities in or over city streets or waters on a case-by-case basis.

The city said it will work with individuals and groups who had those permits if they wish to proceed with their previously-scheduled event using alternatives to fireworks displays or open flames. That seeming impacts street fairs that would ordinarily have bar-b-ques.