What Happened: Fire from Illegal Burn Injures 3 Firefighters

Three firefighters are injured and a home was reduced to a smoking frame only days after the annual burn ban took effect in New York.

The fire, started by a suspected illegal burn just minutes from the border of Orange County, NY on Greenwood Lake, took first responders hours to extinguish. Several homes suffered superficial damage from the flames, but one home was completely destroyed by the blaze. Authorities recently released more information on the dangerous situation.

Fire Near Greenwood Lake, NY

"Fire Companies were dispatched to 469 Lakeside Rd for a reported brush fire. First arriving units saw the column of smoke and encountered a large area of brush burning up the mountain," began the report from the West Milford Fire Marshal's Office. While most houses in the area only suffered superficial fire damage, one home required special attention.

Illegal Burn Sparks Massive House Fire

The home at 48 Kushaqua Trail, just a half-mile from Orange County, NY, quickly became dangerous. Three firefighters were injured during the multi-hour battle with the "deep seated" fire that required special equipment to extinguish. The suspected cause of the fire is the exact thing New York state just banned: an outdoor burn.

Burn Bans in New York and New Jersey

While the burn ban in New York went into effect on March 16th, there is no such statewide ban in New Jersey, where these fires took place. Nonetheless, authorities believe the backyard burn went against current burn restrictions in the state. Fire danger in northern New Jersey is currently designated as "high."

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Fires are a lot easier to extinguish when you can see them. As obvious as that seems, there was actually an underground fire in Pennsylvania that may still be smoldering to this day. Check out photos from Centralia, Pennsylvania below.