NY Wildfire Season 'More Active Than Usual' So Far

NEW YORK — Attention may be on the hundreds of wildfires raging in Canada, but New York's Forest Rangers have been paying heed to a fire season slightly more active than usual — so far.

In all of 2022, DEC forest rangers helped extinguish 162 wildfires covering more than 1,300 acres, including two simultaneously that closed Minnewaska State Park Preserve in the Hudson Valley in August.

So far in 2023, there have been more than 100, though 22 of those were less than a quarter acre, DEC officials said.

There was a little rain in parts of the state on Thursday, which will have helped a little, according to Lt. Scott Jackson, Assistant Fire Management Officer in the state's Division of Forest Protection. Still, "It's more like a delay of game than game over," he told Patch.

The week of April 11-17 was the worst so far, he said.

From April 11 to 17, Forest Rangers were called to 26 wildfires in 16 counties that burned nearly 1,000 acres of land. The largest fire was in the town of Deerpark in Orange County at 300 acres (see DEC video here.)

Rangers coordinated firefighting efforts in Orange County with dozens of local responders, volunteer firefighters,state agency partners including the Division of Homeland Security and Emergency Services, Office of Fire Prevention and Control, New York State Parks, Department of Transportation, Office of Emergency Management, and other DEC staff trained in wildland fire suppression.

And let us not forget the chain of brush fires April 14 in Rockland County along the freight train tracks.

Four fires the week before that included one in Putnam County.

There was even a wildland fire in Putnam in February — before the annual burn ban took effect. State officials have warned New Yorkers to take extra caution due to this year’s warm and dry winter season.

Since April, there have been a few small fires every week, "well within our capabilities," Jackson said. "Fortunately, we didn't have a lot of big fires in the spring like we did in 2015 and 2016."

While the statewide burn ban is no longer in effect, brush burning should only be done when absolutely necessary. Burning garbage or leaves is prohibited year-round in New York.

Dry conditions along the Lake Ontario Plains, Leatherstocking Region, and Southern Tier are resulting in a "high" fire danger rating. A high fire danger means all fine, dead fuels ignite readily and fires start easily from most causes, including unattended brush and campfires. Fires may become serious and controlling them difficult unless attacked successfully while still small. The remainder of New York State is at a moderate level of fire danger. An updated fire danger map is available on the DEC website.

Open burning is prohibited in New York, with these exceptions:

• Campfires or any other outdoor fires less than 3 feet in height and 4 feet in length, width or diameter are allowed.
• Small cooking fires are allowed.
• Ceremonial or celebratory bonfires are allowed. Disposal of flags or religious items in a small-sized fire is allowed, if it is not otherwise prohibited by law or regulation.
• Only charcoal or dry, clean, untreated or unpainted wood can be burned.
• Fires cannot be left unattended and must be fully extinguished.

A New York State Forest Ranger has been deployed to Canada, as a crew boss helping fight fires in Nova Scotia. It's the first time the state, which lends firefighter assistance annually, has sent a Forest Ranger since wildfires in Quebec in 2005.

The Canadian fire season that is just getting started could well become the worst on record. More than 400 blazes burned Thursday. Over a third were in Quebec, where Public Safety Minister François Bonnardel said no rain is expected until next week and temperatures are predicted to rise, the Associated Press reported.

SEE: DEC Accuses Southeast Resident Of Negligence Near A Leaf Fire