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Fires

A Tannery Fire Transformed Kaydeross Valley Communities

December 20, 2020 by Guest Contributor Leave a Comment

Bulls Head Tannery Employees in Ballston SpaToday the crossing of Middle Line Road and Geyser Road in Saratoga County contains a few houses and a small parking lot to access the Kayaderosseras Creek. But in the mid-1800s, it was the site of a thriving hamlet of several hundred inhabitants called Milton Center.

Locally renowned Revolutionary War Lt. Colonel James Gordon became an early entrepreneur after the war. He built one of Milton’s earliest gristmills on the creek by 1800 as well as other small mills to the south in the Town of Ballston. [Read more…] about A Tannery Fire Transformed Kaydeross Valley Communities

Filed Under: Capital-Saratoga, History Tagged With: Ballston Spa, Fires, Industrial History, Milton, Saratoga, Saratoga County, Saratoga Springs

Remembering The Big Blowdown of 1950

November 30, 2020 by John Warren 3 Comments

1995 Blowdown in the Adirondacks Courtesy Wildlife Conservation SocietyThe Adirondacks are prone to powerful windstorms, isolated tornadoes, and occasional hurricanes, derechos, and microbursts. Perhaps the second most destructive of these in modern Adirondack history (next to the 1998 Ice Storm) occurred in November, 1950. [Read more…] about Remembering The Big Blowdown of 1950

Filed Under: Adirondacks & NNY, History Tagged With: Cold River, Fires, Forest Preserve, High Peaks, I-87, Logging, Political History, weather, wildfires

DEC Wildland Firefighters Return From Colorado

November 5, 2020 by Editorial Staff Leave a Comment

Wildland firefighting techniques used in ColoradoOn November 3rd, DEC welcomed back the State’s fourth team of volunteer wildland firefighters from the Divisions of Forest Protection, Lands and Forests, and Fish and Wildlife that were deployed to help battle and contain wildfires raging in western states. [Read more…] about DEC Wildland Firefighters Return From Colorado

Filed Under: Adirondacks & NNY, Capital-Saratoga, Hudson Valley - Catskills, Mohawk Valley, Nature, New York City, Western NY Tagged With: Fires, wildfires

Science of Burning Fresh Firewood vs Dry

November 4, 2020 by Paul Hetzler 1 Comment

I’m told there is a Zen Buddhist saying that goes “Before enlightenment, chop wood, carry water. After enlightenment, chop wood, carry water.” The idea, I think, is to be mindful of the ordinary tasks which constitute one’s daily life, regardless of our spiritual state.

Unfortunately, many of us who heat with wood are not enlightened as to how much extra wood we carry because we’re needlessly boiling water inside our woodstoves all winter. In fact, if your firewood is not adequately dry, it could cost you $200 to $600 annually just to send steam up the chimney. [Read more…] about Science of Burning Fresh Firewood vs Dry

Filed Under: Adirondacks & NNY, Capital-Saratoga, Hudson Valley - Catskills, Mohawk Valley, Nature, New York City, Western NY Tagged With: Fires, Science, trees, winter

Rangers Respond to Marcy, Azure Mtn, Katterskill, Indian Head, Wildfire

September 10, 2020 by Editorial Staff Leave a Comment

forest ranger logoNew York State Department of Environmental Conservation Forest Rangers respond to search and rescue incidents in the around New York State. Working with other state agencies, local emergency response organizations and volunteer search and rescue groups, Forest Rangers locate and extract lost, injured or distressed people.

What follows is a report, prepared by DEC, of recent missions carried out by Forest Rangers. [Read more…] about Rangers Respond to Marcy, Azure Mtn, Katterskill, Indian Head, Wildfire

Filed Under: Adirondacks & NNY, Hudson Valley - Catskills, Recreation Tagged With: DEC, Fires, Forest Ranger Reports, Forest Rangers, hiking, SAR, Search and Rescue, wildfires

Forest Rangers Aid Paddlers, Hikers, Equestrian; Fight Fire

September 1, 2020 by Editorial Staff Leave a Comment

forest ranger logoNew York State Department of Environmental Conservation Forest Rangers respond to search and rescue incidents in the around New York State. Working with other state agencies, local emergency response organizations and volunteer search and rescue groups, Forest Rangers locate and extract lost, injured or distressed people.

What follows is a report, prepared by DEC, of recent missions carried out by Forest Rangers. [Read more…] about Forest Rangers Aid Paddlers, Hikers, Equestrian; Fight Fire

Filed Under: Adirondacks & NNY, History, Hudson Valley - Catskills Tagged With: DEC, Fires, Forest Ranger Reports, Forest Rangers, hiking, Horses, paddling, SAR, Search and Rescue, wildfires

Recent Statewide Forest Ranger Mission Highlights

August 5, 2020 by Editorial Staff Leave a Comment

forest ranger logoNew York State Department of Environmental Conservation Forest Rangers respond to search and rescue incidents in the around New York State. Working with other state agencies, local emergency response organizations and volunteer search and rescue groups, Forest Rangers locate and extract lost, injured or distressed people.

What follows is a report, prepared by DEC, of recent missions carried out by Forest Rangers. [Read more…] about Recent Statewide Forest Ranger Mission Highlights

Filed Under: Adirondacks & NNY, Capital-Saratoga, Recreation, Western NY Tagged With: camping, DEC, Fires, Forest Ranger Reports, Forest Rangers, hiking, wildfires

Adirondack Wildfire: The Destruction of Long Lake West

July 21, 2020 by Mike Prescott Leave a Comment

Damage-by-Laura-Von-Rosk-210x300Over the years I have put my canoe into Adirondack waters at the Lows Lake Lower Dam (Bog River Dam, 1907) and paddled the meandering Bog River Flow upstream to Hitchins Pond.  From there you can carry around the Lows Lake Dam (Upper Dam, 1903*) and out on to Lows Lake.

Occasionally a day paddle and a short hike around Hitchins Pond is in order. I often walk the old Maple Valley Railroad bed, part of the Horse Shoe Forestry Company established by Abbot Augustus “Gus” Low in 1900. If you know where to look, there are rail sidings where A. A. Low’s maple sugarhouses once stood. [Read more…] about Adirondack Wildfire: The Destruction of Long Lake West

Filed Under: Adirondacks & NNY, History, Nature Tagged With: Fires, Logging, Long Lake, Lows Lake, Maple Sugaring, railroads, Sabattis, wildfires

The Union Club’s Camp on Big Moose Lake

April 9, 2020 by Roy Crego 2 Comments

The-Old-Club-Camp-courtesy-Roger-and-Nancy-PrattThe Club Camp is often mentioned as the first permanent structure built on Big Moose Lake in the Adirondacks. The word permanent is rather ironic as this hunting and fishing establishment had a relatively short history of just 28 years. Today the camp’s origins, visitors, and sad end seem largely forgotten. [Read more…] about The Union Club’s Camp on Big Moose Lake

Filed Under: Adirondacks & NNY, History, Nature, New York City Tagged With: Adirondack Guides, Big Moose, Big Moose Lake, Fires, Fisheries, NYC, ornithology, Union Club, zoology

William Fox Helped Create Modern NYS Forest Rangers

March 26, 2020 by John Warren Leave a Comment

Modern Gang Saw in Tupper LakeWilliam F. Fox was born in 1840 in Ballston Spa, Saratoga County, and graduated from Union College in Schenectady in 1860. He served in the Civil War as Captain, Major and then Lieutenant Colonel in the 107th New York Volunteers and later wrote a number of books on both the Civil War and forestry.

Fox’s 1902 History of the Lumber Industry in the State of New York, written under the auspicious of Gifford Pinchot, is considered among the first authoritative works on the logging industry in New York. [Read more…] about William Fox Helped Create Modern NYS Forest Rangers

Filed Under: Adirondacks & NNY, Capital-Saratoga, History, Hudson Valley - Catskills, Nature Tagged With: Adirondacks, DEC, Fire Towers, Fires, Forest Rangers, Forestry, Logging, wildfires, Wildlife

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