Crews again battled dry and breezy weather conditions and wildfires Tuesday that threatened properties in the Hudson Valley and New Jersey.

On Greenwood Lake in Orange County, helicopter crews loaded buckets with water to drop on the flames. It was an all-out effort to try and stop the wildfires burning up more than 5,000 acres of the Sterling Forest Preserve in the two states.

Residents were forced to evacuate their homes. Orange County Executive Steve Neuhaus described it as “hell on earth.”

“We have developed basically a World War I-type of trench warfare where we're hand-digging lines and burning some lines where we backburn at the same time," Neuhaus said. "Those air assets, the helicopters in particular, are critical, dropping the water off.”

The fires have demanded a response from more than 300 fire companies and emergency responders from all over New York. According to Gov. Kathy Hochul, the fire was about 20% contained.

Last week, the fires claimed the life of 18-year-old state parks employee Dariel Vasquez, who died when a tree fell on top of him.

“Lost his life while trying to protect the lives of others," Hochul said. "And we've extended our condolences to his family. But I'm sure that's a wound that'll take forever to heal.”  

Fires have also sparked up in other parts of the state due, in part, to one of the driest Octobers on record.

Hochul issued a statewide burn ban to try and prevent any more fires.

“What that means is completely avoid outdoor burning. Don't leave any campfires, which you should not have campfires in the first place, so don't leave them unattended, but don't have them," Hochul said. "Exercise extreme caution with outdoor grills and report fires immediately.”

Neuhaus expects efforts to combat the flames to continue for weeks. But the state and nation will continue an all-out approach to knock down the flames and ensure more folks don’t have to evacuate.

“Right now, we're using Blackhawks and Hueys, which have a capacity of just under 700 pounds. We're going to switch to Chinooks, which are huge, and we're going to be able to bring in more water starting Thursday. So we're going to continue events. Governor, keep the helicopters coming to me,” Neuhaus said.