According to the state Environmental Conservation Department, the Jennings Creek wildfire is about 88% contained, even after firefighters lost some ground over the weekend.

There are voluntary evacuations for the immediate area surrounding the fire, while state officials ask all New Yorkers to abide by a statewide burn ban.

As the smoke and flames persist, Monday served as a sobering reminder of the cost it extracted and the danger it poses.

The teenage parks employee who was killed while fighting the fire was laid to rest as friends, family and first responders celebrated a spirit they said had been taken too soon. 

A loving son, brother, and community-focused neighbor – that’s how people remembered Dariel Vasquez. The 18-year-old died from being struck by a tree while fighting the Jennings Creek Sterling Forest fire.

“He loved what he did every day," his aunt, Erika DeJesus, said. "He tried every single day to just be a better person, and to uplift everybody around him.”

Vasquez, of Pomona, had just started working at the parks department, but it was something he very quickly developed a passion for. His aunt said that he loved to crack jokes and make his coworkers laugh, but he was always dependable.

“He definitely was the kind of kid, if you needed help, he was going to say 'Yes,'" DeJesus said. "He wasn't that kind to hesitate at any given time. We spoke to a couple of his coworkers that were there and have just dealt with him at work, and they always said he was the person that they counted on. He was the person they wanted on their team when they needed him day in and day out.”

It’s been a hard week for the entire family. Vasquez had his whole life ahead of him. But it brings the family comfort that he died while protecting others.

“We've accepted that he went out doing something that he loved," DeJesus said. "He was happy in the last moments. We were able to talk to people that were there with him fighting the fires, and then he was just cracking jokes all the way up.”