Teenage park ranger killed in US wildfire
A major wildfire, dubbed Jennings Creek, continued to rage in Passaic County, New Jersey, and Orange County, New York, with limited success in containment efforts.
The blaze has burned through 3,000 acres and threatened 25 structures, according to a social media post from the New Jersey Forest Fire Service on Sunday.
The wildfire had previously impacted 2,000 acres and threatened 10 structures around 23 hours ago.
Reports indicate that 18-year-old Dariel Vasquez, a New York State Forest Ranger volunteer and state employee, tragically died on Saturday while responding to the wildfire, Xinhua news agency reported.
Despite the tragedy, joint firefighting efforts by New Jersey and New York authorities have made some progress, containing 10 percent of the wildfire so far.
The public is strongly urged to refrain from using open flames and take every precaution possible to prevent wildfires, given the prolonged and extremely dry conditions in New Jersey.
New York City has banned grilling in city parks as the city remains under drought conditions, with multiple wildfires burning in or near the city.
Notably, a bushfire broke out at the iconic Prospect Park in Brooklyn on Friday, engulfing around two acres of land.
Around 27 million residents in the Northeastern United States were under a Red Flag Warning for critical fire weather on Saturday, with the warning extending into Sunday in Connecticut.
