Fires Rage In And Around The Hudson Valley During Warm Fall - Smoke In Air In Beacon
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"Mommy, it smells like smoke outside. Is someone burning something in their yard?"
"No sweetie, parts of the Hudson Valley forests are burning."
On November 1st, City of Beacon Mayor Lee Kyriacou declared a State of Emergency in the City of Beacon "due to extreme drought conditions, wind, and an areawide increase of wildfires which threaten the public health, safety and welfare of our citizens and private property." At the same time, he issued an Emergency Order banning all exterior open burning until November 6th. As of November 8th, the ban was re-issued until further notice.
This burn ban was the day after Halloween in Beacon, where fire pits are lit for driveway gatherings as trick-or-treators make the rounds
On November 2nd, New York State Department of Environmental Conservation (DEC) Interim Commissioner Sean Mahar issued a Drought Watch for downstate New York, and published on the DEC.ny.gov website: "Recent unseasonably warm weather and lack of precipitation have led to dry conditions for many counties in New York, resulting in some downstate areas being put under drought watch. Local water restrictions and educating residents about how to help conserve our water resources are crucial steps to help prevent a more severe shortage until conditions improve."
On Saturday, November 9th, the Putnam County Sheriff's Office announced a forest fire had been going on since 3:30am in the area surrounding the North End of Indian Lake. They said that multiple Fire Departments responded to the scene, including: Putnam Valley Volunteer Fire Department, Cold Spring Fire Company No. 1, North Highlands Engine Company # 1, Kent Fire Department, Mahopac Falls Vol. Fire Department, Continental Village Vol. Fire Department, along with Buchanan, Montrose and Verplank Fire Departments from Westchester.
Also on Saturday, fire crews were battling a 2,000 acres forest fire in New Jersey in Passaic County, which then spread to Orange County, PIX11 reported. An 18 year old New York forest ranger died while fighting that fire. Dariel Vasquez was fighting the fire in Greenwood Lake when a tree fell on him MidHudson News reported.
On Sunday, November 10th, the Ulster Sheriff's Office announced that firefighters were battling a forest fire in the Whitehouse Forest: "Our agency is assisting state and local agencies including several volunteer fire departments from Ulster, Sullivan and Delaware counties in the Town of Denning with a large forest fire in the Whitehouse Forest between the Rondout and Ashokan Reservoirs. Please limit travel in the area as there are road closures."
The Times Union reported that the Town of Denning fire is approximately 422 acres, Ulster County Executive Jen Metzger said, based on a flyover estimate. “Some 185 firefighters from 20 agencies from Sullivan, Ulster and Delaware Counties have been involved in fire suppression efforts. The incident is being managed through the unified command system by Ulster County Department of Emergency Services, Sullivan County Division of Public Safety, NYS Department of Environmental Conservation, and the Grahamsville Fire Department,” the Times Union reported.
This area is in New York City's watershed, which "contains reservoirs that feed into New York City's water supply system," News12 reported. NYC Water issued a statement via X (formerly Twitter): "DEP & New York State Police helicopters are conducting aerial firefighting operations to assist local fire departments battling the Whitehouse forest fire ranging across 384 acres of mountainous NYC watershed between Rondout & Ashokan reservoirs in western Ulster County in the Catskills."
According to the New York Times, hundreds of forest fires have been reported in New Jersey since October 20th. Also this weekend, a brush fire in a "heavily wooded section" of Brooklyn's Prospect Park burned 2 acres, where 100 firefighters responded to contain it, the New York Times reported.
