Fire departments from throughout the area responded to a brush fire that broke out at the Upper Saucon Township compost center in the 4400 block of Liberty Road Friday afternoon.
According to Upper Saucon Police, police and fire trucks were dispatched to the facility shortly before 1:30 p.m. for “a fairly large brush fire on the east side of the facility” that was spreading to the nearby wood line.
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In addition to the Upper Saucon Township Fire Department, crews from Coopersburg, Lower Saucon, Eastern Salisbury, Vera Cruz, Lower Milford and Upper Milford responded and brought the fire under control relatively quickly, the police department said.
Although the area that caught fire was heavily saturated by fire crews, first responders will continue to monitor it over the weekend.
The compost center is expected to remain closed until Tuesday, Nov. 12, police said.
Other fires–including one that has burned hundreds of acres near the Blue Mountain–have broken out in recent weeks due to an ongoing drought that is affecting most of eastern Pennsylvania.
The Pennsylvania Department of Conservation and Natural Resources has placed counties throughout the region under drought watches and warnings, and the National Weather Service has issued numerous red flag warnings on days when winds and low relative humidity have made conditions favorable for the development of wildfires. Such a warning was in effect on Friday.
Bucks County currently has a county-wide burn ban in effect, Northampton County Council has approved a 30-day burn ban that will take effect at 12 a.m. Sunday, Nov. 10, and a temporary burn ban for Upper Saucon Township issued on Oct. 31 remains in effect.
“This ban will remain in effect until the township receives a recommendation from the Upper Saucon Township Fire Chief that it should be lifted,” officials said at the time.
There has been no significant rainfall across the area since late September, and October was the driest month on record at Lehigh Valley International Airport’s National Weather Service station.
According to the latest weather forecast for the Allentown area, there is a 90 percent chance of rain on Sunday night, although it is unclear if what is forecast will diminish the drought conditions.