Fire crews battled small wildfires across the northeastern United States on Monday, including a blaze in New York and New Jersey that destroyed a park. employed on weekends And Veterans Day plans have been postponed.

A quarter of an inch of rain fell overnight from Sunday to Monday in a forested area straddling the border between the two states, giving firefighters a slight respite.

This fire is one of several wildfires burning on the East Coast, amid a lack of precipitation since September. A New York State Department of Parks, Recreation and Historic Preservation employee who was assisting firefighting crews died Saturday when he was struck by a falling tree.

Fires on the East Coast were burning while much larger wildfires raged in California.

On the New Jersey-New York border, crews worked to contain the 4.7-square-mile fire nicknamed the Jennings Creek wildfiresalthough no evacuations were ordered, according to the New Jersey Forest Fire Department.

Authorities said overnight rainfall was far less than what was needed to put out the numerous brush fires that have erupted in New Jersey since the middle of last week. At least four other wildfires in central and northern New Jersey were mostly or completely contained as of Monday.

To detect and fight fires, teams navigate a maze of country roads, lakes and steep hills amid dense forests. Trees have dropped most of their leaves onto parched ground, hiding potential danger.

“Beneath the surface of the dead leaves that fall from the trees, this substance is dry,” Bryan Gallagher, a park ranger with the New York State Department of Environmental Conservation, said at a press briefing. . “So right now you’re getting a little bit of rain that’s putting out that surface fire. But if it’s forgotten, it’ll stay there. It will smolder like a cigar until it is dry enough, then that fire can reappear.

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

In West Milford, New Jersey, a Veterans Day ceremony was postponed until later this month because of firefighting efforts, said Rudy Hass, the local veteran of foreign wars in the U.S. commander.

“Many of the personnel currently engaged in the fires are veterans themselves, and we must keep them in our thoughts at this time as they spend many hours, day and night, doing everything they can to protect our great communities in this region,” he posted online.

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

Health advisories were issued this weekend for parts of New York, including New York City, and northeastern New Jersey due to poor air quality produced by smoke from the wildfires, but conditions improved after rains 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. She realized the fires were close enough to leave ashes on her deck.

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

The Northeast is experiencing prolonged drought conditions. In New Jersey, the state Department of Environmental Protection is planning a hearing Tuesday to review water supply conditions. Before Sunday evening, the last measurable precipitation in New Jersey occurred on September 28.