(Bloomberg) -- Emergency crews extinguished a fast-growing brush fire in Upper Manhattan Tuesday that briefly blocked traffic, as a deepening drought feeds hundreds of blazes across the region.
The blaze that broke out about 2:20 p.m. local time in the Washington Heights neighborhood, near West 155th St., was under control at 5:48 p.m., a fire department representative said. There were no reports of injuries and the cause was under investigation.
The blaze burned 10 to 15 acres (4 to 6 hectares) and forced several lanes of Harlem River Drive to be closed. Video posted online by the New York City Fire Department showed firefighters hosing down trees in a wooded area filled with fallen leaves.
A total of 138 fire and emergency medical personnel were called to the site. A photo shared on X by Manhattan Borough President Mark D. Levine showed a heavy plume of smoke spreading along the Harlem River at dusk.
The fire came one day after New York officials instituted a drought warning, urging the public to conserve water as the city faces its most severe bout of dry weather since the early 2000s. More than 300 brush fires have been reported across the city since early October, according to Mayor Eric Adams’ office.
(Updates with fire department confirming fire extinguished.)
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