>>> now we turn to a clear and present danger . in 20 different states along the eastern seaboard that we normally associate with the american west , wildfire and brushfire warnings. it's the price you pay for a winter season that never really did show up in a lot of places, saying nothing of the usual snowfall. now it turns to firefighters to slog it out. our report tonight from tom costello.
>> reporter: it may only be the second full week of april, but fire season has arrived weeks if not months ahead of time. on long island new york, three firefighters were jurped as they battled a wildfire that consumed 9,000 acres, destroyed commercial buildings and homes.
>> it's heartbreaking. you live in a house for 25 years and you have all your personal possessions in there.
>> reporter: a stub on fire along the tracks forced amtrak to suspend service for several hours. up and down the east coast , firefighters have been battling heavy smoke and flames for more than ten days now. weather channel meteorologist my seidel.
>> everything you see in red, indicates the warmest start to any year on record. plus, many northeastern states have had their top ten driest starts on record. those two factors and the recent wind is the perfect recipe for fire.
>> reporter: already, 24 states and d.c. have posted red flag fire warnings, extremely unusual on the east coast . with fires as far north on massachusetts. traffic on i- 285 south had to crawl through dense folk. jacksonville issued an air pollution alert with dozens of fires burning statewide.
>> once we got a good seat, it began to run in that area. it had a lot of fuel with it, given the wind conditions we've seen, that type of fire is not uncommon.
>> reporter: humidity problems are unusually low.
>> all the vegetation that grew up rapidly from last winter's rainfall is dry and ready to burn.
>> reporter: an early start to a season, and already busy on the fire line. fire commanders say it is so dry, so windy, and there's so much dry fuel out there, it only takes a cigarette or a downed power line to get a fire that's going and out of control. they're asking everyone in the affected states to use extreme caution.
>> tom costello just outside washington,
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