Credit: Assemblyman Anil Beephan
Officials across the Hudson Valley declared states of emergency this week as long-standing drought conditions coupled with high winds have intensified the risk of wildfires. By Thursday, Oct. 31, Pine Plains and Stanford had both issued emergency declarations, with Columbia County following suit, enacting a countywide alert due to flammable conditions created by unprecedented dryness.
Two brush fires — one in the Dutchess County town of Dover, and another in the Plattekill area of Ulster county — were successfully extinguished last week, according to local fire officials. However, several dozen more continue to blaze on across the Northeastern states of New Jersey, Connecticut, Massachusessets, New Hampshire and Vermont, according to a map of active forest fires created and maintained by the nonprofit organization American Forests.
Credit: dec.ny.gov
On Oct. 25, Supervisor Wendy Burton declared a state of emergency in the Town of Stanford. Her statement, posted on social media, read in part, “Such conditions threaten the public safety of our citizens as well as the safety of our volunteer firefighters.” Within 24 hours, the Town Board initiated a ban prohibiting all outdoor burning — a safeguard recommended by Fire Chief Ed Cerul.
“There have been numerous larger wildfires in the Hudson Valley recently,” Cerul said. “We wanted to mitigate the potential of a large fire in our district.”
Ancram Fire Chief David Boice issued an emergency statement on Monday, Oct. 28, asking residents of both Ancram and Gallatin to refrain from open burning due to fire risk in the region.
Pine Plains Town Supervisor and Fire Chief Brian Walsh declared a state of emergency the following day and ordered a burn ban due to “the threat of wildfires caused by outdoor burning, and its imminent threat to the health and welfare of the town of Pine Plains citizens.”
Then on Wednesday, Oct. 30, the Columbia County Board of Supervisors directed “all departments and agencies of Columbia County to take whatever steps necessary to protect life and property, public infrastructure, and provide such emergency assistance deemed necessary.”
Members of the Milan Volunteer Fire Department were called earlier in the week to help combat the brush fire near Plattekill. Rescue squad captain Peggy Coons said, “Five of our crew — three men and two women — took our ATV last Sunday and fought the [46 acre] fire from 8 a.m. to 6 p.m.” The same day Ancram Volunteer Fire Company members assisted firefighters in battling an 18.5-acre wildfire near Dover.
Credit: Frank Becerra Jr./The Journal News
The Pine Plains and Stanford fire companies have not been called to participate in fighting brushfires outside their districts, but Cerul said the Stanford crew has responded to a few dispatches for small local wildfires and controlled burns in past weeks.
According to drought.gov, October 2024 was one of the driest on record in the Hudson Valley, with only 0.96 inches of rain — nearly five times less than normal. Cerul and Walsh cautioned residents that despite the small amount of precipitation on Tuesday night — 0.041 inches — fire risk remains high.
The two fire chiefs said they rely on the online fire danger map provided by the New York State Department of Environmental Conservation to determine when burn bans can safely be lifted.
“This is one of the longest fall dry spells I can remember. Every building in our town is at fire risk,” Walsh said. “We must think of our neighbors: Any open burning you do may cause embers to be carried by the wind and start a fire several houses down. Stay vigilant, and if you see something, say something.”
