With wildfires burning after its driest September and October ever, New Jersey will issue a drought warning, a step that could eventually lead to mandatory water restrictions if significant rain doesn't fall soon.

"When someone tells you you can't water your lawn, that gets attention. That's honestly where we need to go," said Doug O'Malley, director of Environment New Jersey. "We don't know when this is going to end, and we have to pretend like it's not going to end." Individual water systems are permitted to implement their own restrictions for residents.

The NJDEP held a public hearing Tuesday morning to discuss the possibility of a drought warning amid ongoing warm and dry conditions across the state.