The blaze in the park, at the northern tip of Manhattan, followed brush fires that burned in Brooklyn, the Bronx and New Jersey over the past week.

Steva Sowell-Hardcastle, a NYC Park’s Super Steward, says it was heartbreaking to watch, but that there could be a silver lining. “It was devastating to me, I mean this is my heart. We’re trying to turn this tragedy into a positive thing. Maybe we will see native species regrowing. We can target areas for regrowing,” said Sowell-Hardcastle.

A brush fire at Inwood Hill Park in Upper Manhattan broke out again overnight, but firefighters had it back under control before daybreak.