Drought and forest fires in the Hudson Valley

With the New York State Department of Environmental Conservation (DEC) placing the entire Hudson Valley under a drought watch at the beginning of September, and sporadic rainfall doing little to ease the underlying parched conditions, officials in Ulster County focused on two wildfires that broke out in the Napanoch Point and Stony Kill areas of Minnewaska State Park Preserve. A forest fire at Wurtsboro in Sullivan County also was a threat. It took eight days until Sept. 4 for Gov. Kathy Hochul to be in a position to announce that the Napanoch Point fire had been contained. The other fires had been contained earlier.

Unlike some western U.S. states that have been devastated by wildfires raging though tinder-dry areas, the Hudson Valley has so far avoided wildfires on a massive scale, although the recent fires hinted at what could be in store.

Napanoch fire. Photo by NY State Parks Supervisor Zach Wesley-Krueger

“The entire state of New York is now under high fire damager and for the Hudson Valley its actually very high risk,” State Environmental Conservation Commissioner Basil Seggos said. “It”™s been a hot summer, its been a dry summer. We”™re now under a statewide drought watch. It puts enormous strains on our resources at DEC in terms of fire response and all of the local firefighters that are called in to put down some of these localized fires.”

In August, the City of Kingston in Ulster County was forced to declare a local drought emergency, with mandates put in place regarding water usage.

Hochul had gone to observe firefighting efforts at Minnewaska State Park Preserve on Sept. 1. By then the Napanoch fire had spread to an estimated 174 acres. The park was closed to visitors and even after the fires were contained was due to remain closed until Sept. 7 with some areas of the preserve being closed indefinitely while work takes place to remediate fire impacts.

Gov. Hochul gives briefing on location of fires during Minnewaska State Park visit.

“New York State is not known for the expansive and destructive wildfires seen out West, but they do occur and continue to be a danger, especially with the increase of drought-fueled climate change impacts that require us to be prepared for all types of extreme weather,” Hochul said. “I urge all New Yorkers to remain vigilant and thank our first responders and service members who are working around the clock to protect our communities.”

Firefighters from Dutchess County”™s New Hamburg, Milan, Tivoli and Union Vale fire departments joined the battles across the Hudson River. Also joining the fight were the Dutchess County Department of Emergency Response, firefighters from Red Hook, Amenia, Hyde Park, the Roosevelt Fire Department, Millbrook and Rhinebeck. Two Army National Guard Black Hawk helicopters and two New York State Police helicopters were pressed into service for bucket drops of water on the various fires.

The Napanoch Point fire, which was suspected to have been started by lighting, was larger and more difficult to fight than the Stony Kill and Wurtsboro fires, which were declared contained before the holiday weekend.

Local firefighters were working in a joint unified command led by State Forest Rangers, who have extensive forest fire training and have helped fight fires in other states.

State Police helicopter with water bucket.

The two helicopters from New York State Police Aviation dropped more than 500 buckets of water a day. Each of the two Army National Guard Black Hawk helicopters dumped 12 buckets of water every hour, totaling more than 50,000 gallons of water airlifted in to fight the fires

Twenty firefighters from Quebec, Canada, provided their services as part of the Northeastern Forest Fire Protection Compact. The organization was established in 1949 for joint firefighting efforts and has grown to include the states of New York, Connecticut, Massachusetts, Rhode Island, Vermont and New Hampshire, along with Quebec, New Brunswick, Nova Scotia, Newfoundland, Labrador, U.S. government agencies and the New York City Fire Department.

Fighting the Napanoch fire. Photo by NY State Parks Supervisor Zach Wesley-Krueger.

Ulster County Executive Pat Ryan said, “On behalf of our entire community, I want to thank the hundreds of brave firefighters and first responders risking their lives to fight this wildfire and keep us safe. I’m very proud that in response to yet another tragic natural disaster in Ulster County, our entire community is coming together to protect and care for each other.”