Authorities are reporting the death of a New York parks employee battling one of a number of wildfires in New Jersey and New York amid dry conditions that have prompted air quality warnings in both states.

Health advisories were issued for parts of New York and northeastern New Jersey due to unhealthy air quality from the smoke.

An air quality alert has been issued for New York City, the Hudson Valley and northern New Jersey through 12 a.m. Monday due to smoke from wildfires in the area.

In an unusually dry season for the Northeast, multiple fires are pushing potentially dangerous smoke into New York City.

Brush fires broke out in the Palisades, New Jersey early Friday morning, sending smoke across the Hudson River and into NYC.

The smell of acrid smoke spread throughout New York City on Saturday and persisted into the evening, after brush fires broke out on Friday in Brooklyn, the Bronx and nearby New Jersey. It was a surreal experience for a city that is rarely home to wildfires but is in the middle of a drought.