The so-called Jennings Creek Wildfire in West Milford continues to burn. Hundreds of first responders have been tackling the fire for several days.

Coordinated efforts between fire crews in New Jersey and New York continue to tame this wildfire. Fire restrictions are now set at State 3 due to the danger. The restriction means New Jerseyans should refrain from lighting wood or charcoal fires.

Christopher Franek, of the New Jersey Forest Fire Service, spoke at a news conference Monday afternoon about the effort.

"We’re putting everything we have into suppressing this wildfire. We’re working hard at it. We’re hoping to up that percentage,” he said.

As of Monday night, officials say that 3,500 acres have already burned and the fire is 20% contained. This comes as New Jersey has experienced one of the longest stretches of dry weather in the state’s recorded history – 41 days without rain.

"Going back to records of 1865, this is the driest stretch we’ve had since then,” said Franek.

New Jersey finally got about a quarter inch of rain Sunday night and that slowed the progression of the fire but it’s still not enough to completely extinguish it. It did, however, allow for operations to dial back manpower. Officials say the wind is adding to the difficulty of fighting the flames, along with the terrain. Crews are having difficulty accessing the fire.

"It’s hard to get equipment up there because some areas is too steep for bulldozers to go to, so it is somebody on the ground digging fire lines, choking on smoke and dust trying to suppress this fire with manual labor,” Franek says.

There are still at least 10 structures threatened – two of them residential. No one had to be evacuated, however, there was a temporary shelter in place.

Dariel Vasquez, 18, a New York State Parks employee, was killed by a fallen tree on Saturday while battling the fire.

The cause of the fire is still under investigation and because of its size, it’s not clear if it started in New Jersey or New York.

Crews are expecting smokier conditions in New Jersey on Tuesday due to the wind directions.