Exclusive | Vagrants may have accidentally started NYCs Prospect Park fire: sources

Homeless people camped out in Brooklyn’s Prospect Park may have ignited the weekend blaze that torched two wooded acres in the urban oasis, The Post has learned.Law-enforcement sources said there are indications that vagrants staying in a remote part of the park might have accidentally sparked the flames, which later engulfed a rolling meadow known as the Nethermead.Fire officials said Sunday that they still have no official cause of the Friday night brush blaze.It took more than 100 firefighters to snuff out the fire, which exploded during a lengthy stretch of historically dry weather that’s left the parched landscape primed for burns.“It’s a very labor-intensive operation,” an FDNYrep said of efforts to contain the blaze.“It’s just this steep terrain, windy conditions.

The fire can move rapidly.”Several locals told The Post that they’d seen the homeless camped out in the area and that they wouldn’t be surprised if they were the cause.“There are at least five encampments where these guys hang out,” said Thomas Mason, a retired 56-year-old who lives nearby, on Sunday.“Sometimes there’s more.… Nobody really goes into these wooded areas except for the homeless guys,” he said.

“The park rangers come through here but in cars.And they only hand out dog-walking tickets — you know, for a dog off the leash.”Max Shamash, a 33-year-old artist from Fort Greene, said he’d taken a look at the burn site on top of the hill and noted that it was littered with trash.“There’s hundreds of beer cans, suitcases, baby carriages, AC units — it’s like a junkyard that burnt,” he said, adding that there were also a “bunch of spray-paint bottles that exploded.”Someone first called the Fire Department about the blaze at about 6:40 p.m.

Friday, which prompted the FDNY to send in special brush-fire units and drones.No one was hurt, officials said.Mayor Eric Adams praised an onlooker for swiftly reporting the fire.“We were extremely lucky...