As first responders return to the Greenwood Lake firehouse covered in ash after their 12-hour shifts fighting the wildfire on the mountain east of the lake, they are being received with freshly prepared meals, loud cheers and well wishes from the community's youngest residents.

First responders who are staying at local firehouses this week have been coming back to hand-drawn cards from local children resting on their cots.

"You are strong," one card reads.

Franklin, New Jersey Assistant Fire Chief Corey Houghtaling, a volunteer, has been backing up firefighters near the New York/New Jersey line, and was on standby for a short time Friday morning at the Greenwood Lake Fire Department.

He said that even his children and their classmates in Sussex County have been contributing.

"The actual classes of preschoolers are doing cards and they're actually doing a lot of stuff for us in our county," he said. "To see the outreach and to see how much people actually care, it warms out hearts that the community reaches out to help us out."

Meantime, the Greenwood Lake Fire Department's kitchen has been taken over by local restaurant managers, who have been preparing 1,500 meals each day.

"You see these mountains. It's all rocky and steep, and it's dangerous out there," Warren Congdon, owner of Greenwood Lake Garden Market, said. "To see the rest of the community realizing how important this is and how difficult it is, is really special."