READING, Pa. - Fires around the state have crews stretched thin as the dry weather persists. Sunday night, one broke out on Mt. Penn near the Pagoda.
Firefighters in Reading spent a portion of the night battling the brush fire high atop Mt. Penn.
"We've had about 100 fires in the past week that have burned almost 600 acres," said Mike Kern, chief forest fire warden for the Pennsylvania Department of Conservation and Natural Resources (DCNR.)
Kern says typically spring is wildfire season, but this year fall is rivaling that.
"It's from a variety of causes with the drought and the recent dry weather, one of the driest Octobers on record, especially in the Southeastern part of the state," Kern explained.
Dry conditions and steep terrain posed a challenge for firefighters.
Dry conditions and steep terrain posed a challenge for firefighters, who had the fire, which burned approximately two acres, contained by 9:10 p.m.
As the dry weather persists, crews continue fighting a much larger fire near the Lehigh Gap.
"We are dealing with a lot of really dry conditions," Kern said. "So, even when we get that fire spread stopped, there's still going to be a lot of work to actually extinguish it and put out. It could smoke for quite a while unless we get some significant rainfall."
State officials are urging people not to burn at this time. They say more than 90% of wildfires in Pennsylvania are caused by humans.
