Ellie Park, Multimedia Managing Editor

Thursday’s rare rainfall was a welcome boon, as the U.S. Drought Monitor simultaneously updated New Haven and most of Connecticut to “severe drought” status following three months of abnormally low precipitation.

Due to these conditions, at the end of October, Gov. Ned Lamont declared a state of emergency because of the “critical fire weather conditions that exist throughout Connecticut.” 

“The lack of rain has me very concerned. Every time I see anyone using a gas-powered leaf blower, I fear sparks could ignite a fire. I hope people have been smart enough not to use their fire pits,” local environmental activist Laura Cahn wrote to the News. “I worry about overly dry trees, parched earth, and under filled reservoirs that provide our drinking water.”

Cahn is hopeful that Thursday’s rainy conditions were the first of more to come throughout the rest of November and into December. 

Lamont’s state of emergency declaration came in the wake of the ongoing Hawthorne Fire that broke out on Lamentation Mountain Oct. 23 due to hot ash from an abandoned campfire.

The governor declared the fire “one of the most significant brush fires in Connecticut in recent history.” Robert Sharkevich, a 66-year-old volunteer with the Wethersfield Volunteer Fire Department and retired Hartford firefighter, was killed battling the blaze when his vehicle rolled over as he was traversing the steep terrain. 

The dry fire conditions extend beyond Connecticut throughout the Northeast, including into Massachusetts, where a large fire has broken out in Great Barrington.

Multiple Yale students reported a noticeable smell of smoke on Tuesday morning, which the Connecticut Department of Energy and Environmental Protection — DEEP — attributed to southbound smoke from the Massachusetts blaze.  

Connecticut declared a “burn ban” due to statewide severe fire conditions and the ongoing fire just 25 miles north of downtown New Haven at Lamentation Mountain. DEEP’s ban includes the use of outdoor grills, firepits and campfires, as well as the use of flame outdoors in all state parks, forests and wildlife management areas. 

According to DEEP Commissioner Katherine Dykes, the ban is necessary to protect “residents of our state from the continued threat of forest fires [and] to prevent the ignition of new fires during a period of elevated fire risk.” 

DEEP said in a statement Thursday that 0.8 inches of rain in Connecticut would sufficiently wet the upper layers of soil, possibly eliminating ground fire risk for several days. However, “1 hour surface fuels,” such as recently fallen leaves remain a concern for potential fire outbreaks. 

As of the writing of this article, New Haven had received about 0.6 inches of rain.

Connecticut firefighters continue to fight blazes across the state, including a Nov. 16 fire in nearby Litchfield County. 

Warmer weather contributes to wildfires

In addition to the drier conditions, according to climate meteorologist Lauren Casey, October temperatures in Connecticut have risen by approximately 3 degrees Fahrenheit since 1970. 

Casey said such warming extends the wildfire season, which is typically most severe in April and May, though, this year, Connecticut has experienced some of the worst wildfires in its recent history through October and November.

“We’re unnaturally warming our atmosphere by putting in greenhouse gasses [and] carbon pollution,” Casey said. “It’s going to take households, communities, governments, states [and] nations all across the globe to come together and put into place policies to reduce our greenhouse gas emissions and then also implement adaptation solutions, so we can deal with the consequences of the warming that has already occurred.”

This past October was the second driest on record in Connecticut since 1895.