Officials say the risk of brush and forest fires does not look like it will end any time soon.

The fires continue to burn across the state, including one in Berlin that killed a firefighter.

Michael Kronick, the Western District fire control officer for the Connecticut Department of Energy and Environmental Protection, explains that in the middle of the driest October on record, "we are in Western United States territory dry right now."

Because of this, the state's official forest fire danger level has been bouncing between the two highest statuses it can have.

"Any spark is going to cause a fire. It is dry, it is windy," says Kronick.

"If there's an area where normally fire would burn out...it may jump a certain area," says Kyran Dunn, acting chief for the Fairfield Fire Department.

Dunn says people around the state should be focusing on things they can do to help with prevention.

Dunn says smokers should be extra careful about how they get rid of their cigarettes, and avoid throwing them out a car window, especially on some of the busier roads "like I-95 and the Merrit Parkway, which have got wooded areas to either side."

Bonfires and any other recreational outdoor flames are also things Dunn recommends people should stay away from for now.

He says grilling is probably safe, and recommends everyone "just make sure you area is clear of any excess brush, maybe even wet down the area, just so if any sparks fall out."

Dunn also says to try to avoid doing anything that might create fuel for a potential fire.

That means if you are cleaning leaves in your backyard, try not to just rake or blow them into one pile and leave them there.

"If you are gathering your leaves, put them in an area away from your house, try to get them recycled as soon as you can," says Dunn. "What's going to happen is that all that is going to build up, and it's going be fuel, there's going to be fuel as soon as there is a fire."

"It's going to be a long hall, it's when it starts raining, and not just a quarter inch, we're talking I need a couple inches of rain," says Kronick.

Until then, both state and local officials say they will be looking into sending extra crews to any fire.