CORAOPOLIS, Pa. (KDKA) – Dry and windy weather is causing recurring wildfires in several southwestern Pennsylvania counties, including Allegheny, Butler, Fayette, Allegheny and Washington.

Due to the drought, firefighters are on high alert, chasing one fire after another. It took emergency crews hours to extinguish two separate wildfires in Allegheny County on Thursday.

A major fire in Coraopolis burned 7 acres near Cornell School on Thursday. The Coraopolis fire chief said it was the worst brush fire he had dealt with in his 37 years with the volunteer fire department. He urges people to take the current drought and fire threat seriously.

“With these strong winds and dry conditions, when I arrived on scene the fire was already at the top of the hillside and was spreading toward the neighborhoods and directly toward the cemetery,” said Charles Spencer Jr., chief of the volunteer fire department from Coraopolis.

Chief Spencer said the department had to reach out to nearly a dozen other departments for assistance.

“Some of it came pretty close to some of the houses on Flemming Street. So things were bad in this town,” Chief Spencer said.

“We had to fight it from Cemetery Hill, off School Street, off Maple Street. It was pretty bad,” he added.

It is not clear what started the bushfire.

“The week before we had a bushfire up there the area was already burnt out. But then it started again in the area where it wasn’t burning and just erupted. Last week it was triggered by electrical wires. “Arc arcing occurs,” said Chief Spencer.

The fire on Thursday was not easy to put out. The emergency services fought the flames for around ten hours. A firefighter had to be hospitalized due to dehydration.

“The difficulty is that it is a slope, a lot of trees, a lot of bushes. “Then the fire got into the trees so we had to drop a lot of large trees up in the forest and also we had no water up in the cemetery so we had to use tankers,” said Chief Spencer.

At the same time, crews were battling a large brush fire in nearby Robinson Township on Thursday. It burned near the Costco store for five hours.

There is a high risk of fire across much of the state.

“The problem is that it didn’t rain here. There was drought, there were strong winds and that combination is a bad combination for a bushfire,” Chief Spencer said.

Pennsylvania declared drought conditions in 35 counties. Almost the entire Pittsburgh region is under a drought watch.

“I’m hoping for some rain. We have enough, we have enough fires that will last for a while,” he said.

Chief Spencer said people need to be careful and avoid campfires and burning anything until there is enough rain and the drought is over.

“If you see anything smoking or wood burning in the forest, call the local fire department immediately. Don’t hesitate because with this strong wind it could take off in seconds,” he said.

If your county is experiencing a drought, you will be asked to voluntarily reduce your water use by 10 to 15 percent.

The Pennsylvania DEP offered some water conservation tips:

• Skip the car wash
• Reduce the frequency with which you use the dishwasher and washing machine
• Water the plants before the sun rises or after it sets
• Only water your lawn when necessary.