A drought-driven wildfire near the New Jersey-New York border has claimed the life of an 18-year-old volunteer firefighter, scorched thousands of acres, and forecasters have cautioned about the heightened potential for the fire’s spread on Tuesday.

Per the New Jersey Forest Fire Service, the Jennings Creek fire in West Milford, New Jersey, has burned through 3,500 acres and is 20% contained. Located around 60 miles southeast of Manhattan, the fire is affecting Passaic County in New Jersey as well as Orange County in New York.

The fire first emerged on Saturday and quickly spread into Orange County that same evening, according to NorthJersey.com, associated with the YSL News Network.

Dariel Vasquez, an 18-year-old volunteer firefighter with the Wildland Fire Crew, tragically lost his life when a tree fell on him while combating the blaze on the New Jersey-New York line, as reported by NorthJersey.com.

“Our thoughts and prayers are with the family of the 18-year-old volunteer from the Park Service who tragically lost his life while fighting the fire,” stated the Town of Warwick, New York, on Facebook.

An investigation into his death is currently being conducted by the New York State Police.

YSL News has contacted both the New Jersey Forest Fire Service and the New York State Department of Environmental Conservation regarding the wildfire.

Increased risk of fire spread on Tuesday, according to the National Weather Service

The National Weather Service warns that the risk for the wildfire to expand further will be high on Tuesday due to strong winds and low humidity.

With wind gusts anticipated to reach up to 35 mph and humidity levels falling between 30% to 40%, forecasters in New York indicated that these conditions “will facilitate the spread of any ignited fires,” as mentioned in a Special Weather Statement issued Monday afternoon.

Officials strongly advise those in the vicinity to avoid outdoor fires and to manage any potential wildfire igniters, such as cigarette butts, carefully.

What started the fire?

The New Jersey Forest Fire Service is still investigating the cause of the wildfire.

Rainfall brings some relief

The region received approximately 0.25 inches of rain overnight Sunday into Monday, helping firefighters to gain control over parts of the fire, which has been exacerbated by the ongoing drought.

This rainfall occurred during what has been recorded as the driest fall season to date, according to meteorologist James Tomasini with the National Weather Service (NWS) in New York.

“We’re significantly below our average rainfall,” Tomasini explained.

Between September 1 and November 10, Newark, New Jersey, located 42 miles southeast of Passaic County, recorded just 0.96 inches of rain.

Typically, Newark sees an average of 3.79 inches of rainfall in October, per Tomasini.

Tomasini noted, “This has been the lowest amount of rain we’ve observed at this stage in the fall season.”

October was particularly dry, recording only a “trace” of rain, which was not substantial enough to measure, making it the driest October and overall the driest month in recorded history for the area.

Windy weather conditions

Although the region is experiencing wind gusts between 10 and 20 mph, the recent rainfall and higher humidity levels have made conditions less conducive for the fire to spread, according to Tomasini.

Smoke seen from space

On Saturday, smoke from the wildfire was even visible from space, as revealed by a post on the NWS New York NY X account.

“We can observe a wildfire along the NJ/NY border from space thanks to @NOAASatellites,” the account announced. “Some of this smoke and haze may be noticeable further south into [New York City].”

There were air quality alerts issued because of the smoke from the fire over the weekend, as indicated by Tomasini. However, as of 12 p.m. ET on Monday, no alerts were active.

(This story has been updated with new information.)