Nov 12 (Reuters) - Strengthening winds and bone-dry conditions were hindering firefighters working to gain control of a stubborn wildfire burning in a forested stretch along the New York-New Jersey state border about 50 miles (80 km) northwest of New York City.

Fire crews on both coasts of the U.S. are battling wildfires, including one in New York and New Jersey that killed a parks employee

The Jennings Creek fire is currently burning across 3,500 acres, officials said, and is expected to grow to over 5,000 acres.

The weather on Tuesday will make it much tougher for the crews continuing to battle the Jennings Creek Wildfire, which is eating up 3,500 acres of wooded land in the northern part of Passaic County that abuts the New York State border.

Firefighters are slowly making progress in their battle against a wildfire at the border of New Jersey and New York.

The Jennings Creek Wildfire has burned more than 2,200 acres across Passaic County, NJ, and Orange County, NY, and shifting winds are blowing smoke into surrounding areas. The New Jersey Forest Fire Service,