NEW YORK (PIX11)— Local fire departments and the New York State Police are battling a forest fire raging across 384 acres of a mountainous area known as the New York City watershed, according to NYC Water.
According to NYC Environmental Protection, the fire is near the Catskill Water Supply System, one of the main water supplies vital to the water supply for millions of New York City residents.
According to the NYC Water Supply, the watershed comprises 19 reservoirs and three controlled lakes and is located in portions of the Hudson Valley and the Catskill Mountains.
The fire is currently raging in the Rondout and Ashokan reservoirs in western Ulster County, in the Catskills.
It remains unclear what started the fire in the reservoirs.
The fire comes as parts of New York are experiencing a record-breaking period of no rainfall.
Matthew Euzarraga is a multimedia journalist from El Paso, Texas. He has covered local news and LGBTQIA topics in the New York City Metro area since 2021. He joined the PIX11 Digital team in 2023. You can see more of his work here.
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