Dry conditions in the Northeast are worsening, creating a scenario for fire danger in the region to persist, an updated map from the U.S. Drought Monitor shows.

Some of the hardest hit areas could require 7 inches or more of rain to end the dry spell fueling East Coast wildfires this fall.

Brian Fuchs, a climatologist with the National Drought Mitigation Center, told Newsweek that the last time drought to this extent was documented in the U.S. was in the fall of 2022. Nearly 63 percent of the country was in drought that November.