Recreational Aid with no Apparent Training was on the Jennings Creek Wildfire, NY
The public has the right to know the details of Dariel Vasquez death. NYS Parks has no record of his fire credentials. Where is the after action report?
Living in Port Jefferson under a three month drought, I made pitiful attempts to water the trees surrounding my home as I waited for the Long Island Pine Barrens to blaze once more into a wildfire. To my surprise, it happened upstate on October 18, 2024, burning 5,304 acres, split between New York, and New Jersey [1].
The NY agency leading the suppression effort was the Department of Environmental Conservation (NYSDEC) and not State Parks. Sterling Forest's public land manager is the Office of Parks, Recreation and Historic Preservation (OPRHP), aka State Parks. Specifically, firefighting was led by NYSDEC Forest Rangers and the New Jersey Forest Fire Service - as it crossed state lines, with many other organizations involved.