A teenager who worked for the New York State Parks Department died Saturday while fighting a wildfire near the New Jersey border in Orange County.
Dariel Vasquez, 18, was killed when a tree fell on him while he was battling a fire near Greenwood Lake, according to Eastern Dutchess County Fire and Rescue.
New York State Police said they would investigate Vasquez’s death. The department described Vasquez as a parks and recreation assistant with the New York State Parks, Recreation and Historic Preservation Department.
“I am deeply saddened by the death of one of our New York State Parks employees while responding to a wildfire in Orange County yesterday,” Governor Hochul said in a statement on Sunday. “I commend his dedication to serving and protecting his fellow New Yorkers, and his courage on the front lines.”
The deadly blaze, called the Jennings Creek Fire, covered 2,500 acres and was 0% contained as of Sunday morning, according to the New Jersey Forest Fire Service.
It continued to burn near Greenwood Lake, which straddles the border between New York’s Orange County and New Jersey’s Passaic County. However, no evacuations were ordered.
Several wildfires raged in the New York-New Jersey region on Sunday, the result of extremely dry conditions after little rain fell in the area in October.
Another fire in Passaic County, the Cannonball 3 Fire near Pompton Lakes, was 75% contained as of Sunday morning, according to the New Jersey Fire Department. That fire was significantly smaller, burning only about 175 acres.
An air quality alert was issued for all five boroughs, Westchester County and Rockland County due to smoke from the fires. New Yorkers were advised to limit strenuous outdoor activities.
