As wildfires continued to burn Tuesday evening at Minnewaska State Park Preserve, state and Ulster County officials provided the public with an update on containment efforts.

The first of three wildfires at the park ignited Saturday, and fire crews have been battling the blazes since.

New York State forest rangers said this was likely the result of a lightning strike a couple days prior, combined with dry, hot air.

“Our primary plan is still to go in and keep this fire as small as possible by going as direct, as close to the fire as possible to put it out,” New York State Forest Ranger Robbi Mecus said.

Mecus estimated as of Tuesday night, the Napanoch fire had burned 130 to 150 acres; about 75 acres have burned in the Wurtsburo fire; and the Stony Kill fire consists of one to two acres.

According to Mecus, the three fires are in close enough proximity to allow for a sharing of resources.

“The complexity of this fire is definitely different than our spring fires," Ulster County Director of Emergency Services Everett Erichsen said. "These summer fires move a lot slower. The fire dynamic is a lot different. The weather that we’ve had over the last eight weeks with the drought really affects what’s going on right now.”

Although rain rolled through the area Tuesday night, Mecus said it was helpful, but not enough to put the fire out.

"What it does is it slows the fire down," Mecus said. "All that heat now has to dry that moisture out before it can come back up and start moving again. So it buys us time to go in and get that contingency line firmly established.”

Mecus said the fires are not anywhere near residences, and they do not anticipate any buildings being threatened.

Danielle Whitman of Ellenville said her biggest concern was smoke in the air, as her nephew can have difficulty breathing at times.

“I don’t believe in trying to stay in place if it’s safer to just leave, so we’ve already contacted family and friends to make sure that we have some place to go if things go worst case scenario,” Whitman said.

According to Mecus, the best way for residents to assist is by not having outdoor fires, including campfires and burning brush.

"This fire, because it’s so deeply seeded in the soil, is going to take a long time to actually fully extinguish, even after we get a containment line around it. I expect it to take some time,” Mecus said.