Homeowners concerned as Jennings Creek wildfire burns on NY-NJ border.

NEW JERSEY (PIX11) -- Doug Berrian isn't in panic mode just yet, but he admits he's certainly been on heightened alert.

The 73-year-old said it's all because of what's happening in the woods only a hundred or so yards from the home he and his wife have owned for the last 50 years overlooking Greenwood Lake in Hewitt, New Jersey.

"It doesn't take anything to start a fire. There was a burning inferno. I never saw anything like that in my life," said Berrian.

Just outside Berrian's windows, tactical helicopters scooped up water in the ongoing effort to extinguish the massive Jennings Creek fire on the east side of Greenwood Lake. Its flames straddle the New York-New Jersey border.

Brenda lives across the street. Her home is dangerously closer to the smoke and flames.

"I spoke to my father today on the phone and he's like, 'You think you live in California right now?'" said Brenda.

Brenda said she is worried about her home. "We've been a little panicked. Didn't know when to pack up or not," she said.

Officials in New York and New Jersey provided updates Tuesday on the 5,000-acre fire, which they said is only 20% contained.

New York Gov. Kathy Hochul held a news conference early Tuesday afternoon. She said the Jennings Creek wildfire is the state's largest since 2008, adding crews from all over the state have arrived on the scene to help put it out.

Hochul also said that because of a lack of rain in the immediate forecast, her administration is upholding a statewide burn ban, including campfires.

"We are here to the end. The conditions we're facing are still pretty dire. This is one of the driest Octobers we've had on record," said Hochul.

Meanwhile, back at Berrian's home, which he calls his "little slice of heaven," he's leaning heavily on a healthy dose of faith-inspired cautious optimism.

"It's like a tinderbox out here. Gotta believe that God's gonna watch out for us -- I hope," said Berrian.