Rough Terrain Adds To Crews' Challenges Fighting Deadly NJ Wildfire

WEST MILFORD, NJ — Forest Fire Service crews continue battling a wildfire in West Milford and across the New York State line that has consumed thousands of acres, and resulted in a young firefighter's death.

The Jennings Creek Wildfire has been burning since Saturday, and is still threatening two homes in West Milford along with eight buildings in Long Pond Ironworks Historic District. An 18-year-old volunteer firefighter died in New York on Saturday after being crushed by a falling tree.

Officials provided some clarity on the fire's size: The fire has burned 2,283 acres in New Jersey and about 2,700 acres in New York. It is 30 percent contained across both states as of the latest update, and smoke continues to drift over the region.

Forest Fire Service crews were "aggressively patrolling the fire perimeter and addressing areas of concern" on Wednesday, after dealing with strong winds on Tuesday that made their efforts more difficult. The fire did not grow overnight.

New Jersey also declared a drought warning on Wednesday as reservoir levels have been dropping, and residents are urged to conserve water. The little bit of rain from earlier in the week has evaporated, and the dry leaves and branches underneath provide plenty of fuel for the wildfire to burn.

In this part of northern New Jersey, crews are also hampered by the rugged and remote location of the fire, as NJ Forest Fire Service Administrator Greg McLaughlin noted during a Wednesday press conference. Bulldozers and plows cannot get across the steep terrain easily, so a lot of fireline control has to be done by hand.

"It's very remote, and so there's not a lot of vehicle access and not a lot of good fire breaks, such as roads and streams, that we would typically have in place or be able to improve quickly," he said.

That means more physical work for the crews — and it takes more time, McLaughlin said.

However, efforts to control the New Jersey side of the fire were "progressing well," West Milford Mayor Michele Dale said on Wednesday afternoon.

Teams from the New Jersey Forest Fire Service will continue assisting New York State, and continuing to conduct back burning in certain areas.

"If you notice increased smoke, please know it’s due to this controlled backfiring, not an escalation of the fire," Dale said. "Expect to see smoke for the next few weeks as operations continue."

The fire is also threatening 14 buildings in New York, and Gov. Kathy Hochul said it was the state's biggest wildfire since 2008.

New York State Police said they were investigating the death of Dariel Vasquez, the state parks employee who died when a tree fell on him Saturday afternoon as he battled a major brush fire.

Jeremy Oldroyd, a forest ranger with New York state, said that Vasquez died “assisting with fire line construction” in Sterling Forest.

“Wildland firefighting is a very dangerous profession, and we try to take as many precautions as we can mitigate some of the hazards that are out there in the wildland fire environment. But occasionally accidents do happen,” he told the Associated Press.

The fire's cause is still under investigation.

Residents in West Milford and nearby communities can expect to see/smell smoke while firefighters continue their operations. As of Wednesday, Tranquility Ridge County Park in Hewitt is also closed.

West Milford residents can check the following Facebook pages for information about road closures and related community updates about the Jennings Creek wildfire: Mayor Michele Dale, the West Milford Office of Emergency Management, the West Milford Fire Department, West Milford Police, and the New Jersey Forest Fire Service.