Parks and Recreation Aid, 18, dies after responding to wildfire

POMPTON LAKES, N.J. — A New York parks employee died battling one of a number of wildfires in New Jersey and New York amid dry conditions that have prompted air quality warnings in both states, authorities said Sunday.

The Eastern Dutchess County Fire and Rescue said the New York state forestry service reported that the worker died when a tree fell on him Saturday afternoon as he battled a major brush fire along the New York-New Jersey border, officials said.

“Rip brother your shift is over job well done,” the post said.

New York State Police said they were investigating the death amid the fire in Sterling Forest located in Greenwood Lake and identified the victim as Dariel Vasquez, an 18-year-old Parks and Recreation aide employed by the New York State Parks, Recreation, and Historic Preservation Department.

The New Jersey Department of Environmental Protection’s Forest Fire Service reported the sprawling blaze had spread to more than 3 square miles (about 8 square kilometers) near the border in Passaic County’s West Milford and Orange County, New York. Dubbed the Jennings Creek wildfire, it was threatening two homes and eight buildings in the Long Pond Ironworks Historic District.

Governor Kathy Hochul shared on Sunday this message in a statement: 

“I am deeply saddened by the passing of one of our New York State Parks employees while responding to a wildfire in Orange County yesterday,” Governor Hochul said. “My prayers go out to his family, friends and coworkers during this difficult time. I commend his dedication to serving and protecting his fellow New Yorkers, and his bravery on the front lines. New York is battling multiple wildfires due to the dry conditions we are currently facing. Our State employees are working around the clock to protect our communities and we are keeping them close in our thoughts as they put their lives on the line to stop the spread of these wildfires.”

The full press release by New York State can be read here.

Health advisories were issued for parts of New York and northeastern New Jersey due to unhealthy air quality due to smoke from the fires. People were urged to limit strenuous outdoor physical activity if possible; those especially sensitive included the very young and very old and people with ailments such as asthma and heart disease.

New Jersey officials, meanwhile, reported 75 percent containment of a 175-acre (70-hectare) fire in the Pompton Lakes area of Passaic County that was threatening 55 homes, although no evacuations had been ordered.

Progress was also reported on fires in the Bethany Run area on the border of Burlington and Camden counties in Evesham and Voorhees townships; a blaze along the Palisades Interstate Parkway in Englewood Cliffs in Bergen County; and the Pheasant Run wildfire in the Glassboro wildlife protection area of Gloucester County.

Prosecutors in Ocean County on late Saturday afternoon announced arson and firearms charges in connection with a 350-acre (142-hectare) Jackson Township fire that started Wednesday. They said it was sparked by magnesium shards from a shotgun round on the berm of a shooting range. Officials said firing that kind of “incendiary or tracer ammunition” was barred in the state. The majority of the blaze has been contained, officials reported Friday.