‘True community hero.’ 18-year-old parks employee dies battling NY forest fire, cops say
An 18-year-old New York parks employee died while battling one of several fires that burned in the Northeast, according to state officials.
Dariel Vasquez was killed during the blaze in Sterling Forest in Greenwood Lake, near the New Jersey border, on Nov. 9, New York State Police said in a news release issued that day. State authorities are investigating his death.
Vasquez, who attended Ramapo High School in Rockland County, was remembered by his family as a “true community hero” who was “taken too soon.”
He sacrificed “his own safety to protect his community,” his family wrote in a GoFundMe, which was established for costs related to his unexpected death.
“His bravery and selflessness in those last moments were a reflection of his pure heart and unwavering commitment to others,” the Vasquez family said of Dariel Vasquez.
Vasquez, who worked as a state parks Wildland Fire Crew member, was fatally injured by a fallen tree as he worked the “fire line” in Sterling Forest, the New York State Parks, Recreation, and Historic Preservation Department said in a Nov. 10 statement.
“Lifesaving measures were administered at the scene but were unsuccessful,” the statement said.
Vasquez was volunteering with the Wildland Fire Crew when he died.
He graduated from Ramapo High School earlier this year, The Journal News reported. He was the school’s baseball captain and Rockland County’s male athlete of the spring 2024 season, according to the newspaper.
At the school’s baseball field, a vigil was held for him the afternoon of Nov. 11, the newspaper reported.
Described as a leader and inspiration among his peers, his family wrote in the GoFundMe that Vasquez “had big dreams for the future, with plans to begin college this coming January.”
“Dariel’s sudden passing has left a void in our family and community, yet his legacy of love and courage remains an enduring source of inspiration,” his family said.
New York Gov. Kathy Hochul said she was “deeply saddened” by Vasquez’s death in a Nov. 10 statement.
“I commend his dedication to serving and protecting his fellow New Yorkers, and his bravery on the front lines,” Hochul said in the statement/.
She said the state was experiencing several fires as a result of “dry conditions.”
Fires in the Northeast
As of 9:30 a.m. Nov. 11, several fire departments were still battling the Sterling Forest fire, according to a Facebook update shared by the Town of Warwick, in Orange County.
The fire, also known as the Jennings Creek Fire, began Nov. 8, spanning from Passaic County in New Jersey to Sterling Forest in Orange County, New York, ABC News reported.
About 2,500 acres in New York and New Jersey have been scorched by the blaze, a New York State Department of Environmental Conservation forest ranger said Nov. 11, according to the outlet.
An interactive AirNow map shows multiple fires burning in New Jersey and Pennsylvania, a second fire in New York’s Catskill region, a fire in Connecticut and a few fires in Massachusetts as of 3:45 p.m. Nov. 11.
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