NEW JERSEY – Some residents in New Jersey woke up to the smell of smoke Friday morning. nearby forest fires It continued to burn.

JUMP HERE: JENNINGS CREEK FIRE I DROUGHT WARNING I AIR QUALITY MAP I wildfire map

Why does it smell like smoke outside?

Many towns in the Garden State had air quality levels in the mid range of 51-100.

This past weekend, New Yorkers woke up to an event: similar situation. In the video taken from LaGuardia Airport, a layer of brown haze was seen hovering just above the Manhattan skyline. FOX Weather Their home “smelled like a campfire” on Saturday morning.

Meanwhile, according to the news National Weather Service, Increasing fire weather concerns remain for Northeast New Jersey, the Lower Hudson Valley, New York City and Long Island.

NJ Gov. Phil Murphy issued a drought warning for the state, asking people to take voluntary savings steps like taking shorter showers, turning off the faucet when brushing their teeth and waiting until the dishwasher is full to run.

weather forecast not visible driving rain We will reach New York City in the coming days. Fortunately, US Climate Prediction Center He says next week will be relatively wet for the eastern third of the US

Jennings Creek Fire

Fire crews continued their efforts to control the wildfire, which burned approximately 7.8 square miles in two states in the forested area on the New Jersey-New York border.

The wildfire that ravaged the New Jersey-New York border in Passaic and Orange counties, called the Jennings Creek Fire by New Jersey officials, is now 75% contained.

The wildfire began spreading over the weekend and has burned nearly 2,300 acres in New Jersey so far, for a total of about 5,000 acres.

Although gains have been made, the crew is reportedly exhausted. Hundreds of firefighters worked for days at Sterling Forest State Park, some working 12-hour shifts.

“They’re probably not getting the rest they need, but hopefully they’ll hang in there,” NJ State Fire Marshal Bill Donnelly said. “It definitely hurts them, but I think we’ll get through it.”

No homes were damaged, but Greg McLaughlin, director of the New Jersey Forest Fire Service, said rugged hill terrain and few road access points made it difficult to fight the fire from the ground. Water-dropping helicopters were being used in both states. And firefighters in New York took advantage of changing wind directions on Wednesday to launch a controlled fire line to burn brush and leaves that could serve as fuel.

Drought warning in New Jersey

“Please take this seriously,” Murphy said. “We have a very dry winter ahead of us.”

But mandatory water use restrictions, the highest warning the government can give, to be included in the event of a drought emergency, have not been met.

State geologist Steven Domber told The Associated Press that water levels are falling across New Jersey.

“They are well below long-term averages and trending downward,” he said. “They will continue to fall in the coming weeks unless we get significant rainfall.”

About half of New Jersey’s public water systems are experiencing near-normal water demand, but 40% are experiencing higher-than-normal demand, he said.

Officials said 10 inches (25 centimeters) of rain may be needed to meaningfully improve conditions in New Jersey. But the predictions do not require this.

Air quality map

from this map AirNow.gov Shows the current air quality in the New York City area. Click here If you are having trouble viewing the embedded map.

New Jersey fire map

AirNow has a feature Interactive Fire and Smoke Map For updates on fires in your area. The National Interagency Fire Center has also partnered with NASA. Provide real-time interactive fire maps.