As efforts to battle a wildfire on the New Jersey/New York border continue, much of southern New York is now under a red flag warning, pointing to a heightened risk of additional fires. The Jennings Creek Wildfire has burned through thousands of acres in northern New Jersey and New York's Orange County,

The red flag warnings that have been issued by New York State cover parts of the Southern Tier and Mohawk Valley regions of the state. If you live in these areas, there are things that you can do to help reduce the risk of fires sparking. Taking steps like these below will go a long way to help:

Although the Red Flag Warning was issued for only Friday, the threat of wildfires across the region will persist until the pattern switches back to wet. As of now, a pattern change does not look likely in the short term.