Report Of New Brushfire Was Instead Someone Ignoring Burn Ban: Police

PUTNAM COUNTY, NY — As historic dry conditions continue, police say that they had to respond to two separate incidents in which property owners potentially put lives at risk by failing to comply with emergency burn ban orders.

Two Putnam County residents in two different towns received summonses for having open burns in violation of the Governor's Executive Order, according to Putnam County Sheriff Kevin J. McConville.

On Sunday, around 5:10 p.m., a deputy was dispatched to a home in the Town of Southeast for a report of a possible brush fire. Deputies saw construction materials burning in a fire in the back yard of a home on Nichols Road. The Brewster Fire Department then arrived on the scene and extinguished the fire. 46-year-old Ramiro Guzman-Oliveros was issued an appearance ticket for being in violation of the open burning ban during this exceptional drought period and was ordered to appear in the Town of Southeast Court at a future date.

About two and a half hours later, a deputy was dispatched to Laurel Road in the Town of Putnam Valley for another open burn call. When deputies arrived on the scene, the Putnam Valley Fire Department had just extinguished a fire in an outdoor open burn pit. 46-year-old Fabian Sanchez, who said that he was burning wood and did not know about the ban, was issued an appearance ticket for the Putnam Valley Town Court.

Sheriff McConville said the two incidents are providing an opportunity to remind the public of the current burn ban at both the state and county levels and the potential danger of open fires.