Firefighters in New York said Sunday that a successful voluntary evacuation overnight helped them protect about 165 homes from a wildfire near the New Jersey border.

However, New York City’s fire department has taken the first-of-its-kind step of creating a brush fire task force to respond to what officials are calling a historic increase in brush fires occurring throughout the five boroughs, the Fire Department of the City of New York’s commissioner announced. From Nov. 1 to Thursday, the department responded to 271 brush fires across the city.

“Due to a significant lack of rainfall, the threat of fast-spreading brush fires fueled by dry vegetation and windy conditions have resulted in an historic increase of brush fires throughout New York City,” Commissioner Robert S. Tucker said in a statement.

Windy conditions renewed a wildfire Saturday that escaped a containment line and prompted emergency officials to enact a voluntary evacuation plan for a community near the border.

The voluntary evacuation will remain in place at least until Monday.

— The Associated Press