Fire crews battled small wildfires across the Northeastern U.S. on Monday, including one that destroyed parks in New York and New Jersey. weekend worker And He postponed his Veterans Day plans.

Overnight Sunday into Monday, a quarter-inch of rain fell on the forested area straddling the border between the two states, providing firefighters with a slight respite.

The fire is one of several wildfires burning on the East Coast since September due to a lack of rainfall. A New York State Department of Parks, Recreation and Historic Preservation employee who was assisting firefighters died Saturday after being struck by a falling tree.

East Coast fires were burning as much larger wildfires raged across California.

On the border of New Jersey and New York, crews worked to contain the 4.7-square-mile fire. Jennings Creek WildfireAlthough no evacuation orders have been issued, according to the New Jersey Forest Fire Service.

Officials said overnight rainfall was far less than the amount needed to extinguish the numerous brush fires that have broken out around New Jersey since the middle of last week. At least four other wildfires in northern New Jersey were mostly or completely contained as of Monday.

To find and extinguish fires, crews navigate a maze of country roads, lakes and steep hills amid dense forests. Trees here mask a potential danger by dropping most of their leaves onto the arid ground.

“They are bone dry underneath the surface leaf litter that has fallen from the trees,” Bryan Gallagher, a forest ranger with the New York State Department of Environmental Conservation, said at a media briefing. “So right now there is some rain falling which will put out the fire on the surface. But if it’s in the bag, it’ll stay there. “It will burn like a cigar until it gets dry enough, and then that fire can come back.”

A firefighting helicopter capable of dropping 350 gallons (1,325 liters) at a time was being used to help fight the Jennings Creek fire. New York Gov. Kathy Hochul said the National Guard deployed two Black Hawk helicopters for water drops.

In West Milford, New Jersey, a Veterans Day ceremony was postponed until later in the month due to firefighting efforts, said Rudy Hass, the local U.S. commander of Veterans of Foreign Wars.

“Many of the personnel currently handling the fires are veterans and we need to keep them in our thoughts right now as they spend hours and hours day and night and do everything they can to protect our great communities in that area.” published on the internet.

Meanwhile, New York State Police said they were investigating the death of Dariel Vasquez, an 18-year-old state parks worker who was killed Saturday while fighting a fire near Greenwood Lake in New York state.

Health alerts were issued for parts of New York, including New York City, and northeastern New Jersey over the weekend due to unhealthy air quality produced by smoke from the fires, but conditions improved after rainfall and changes in wind direction.

Dana Van Allen of Ringwood, New Jersey, said she woke up early Saturday to what smelled like a burning campfire. He realized the fires were close enough to leave ashes on his deck.

“It was so suffocating. We were so scared,” she recalled Monday.

The northeast is experiencing prolonged dry conditions. In New Jersey, the state Department of Environmental Conservation plans to hold a hearing Tuesday to review water supply conditions. The last measurable precipitation in New Jersey before Sunday night was on September 28.