Fires

Rangers Respond to Lost Hiker at Breakneck Ridge, Debris Fire in Brookhaven

December 29, 2021 by Editorial Staff Leave a Comment

New York State Department of Environmental Conservation Forest Rangers respond to search and rescue incidents throughout 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 Lost Hiker at Breakneck Ridge, Debris Fire in Brookhaven

A Canal Gunpowder Blast: The Day Verona Beach’s Waterfront Was Razed

October 25, 2021 by Bill Orzell 2 Comments

The Oneida County resorts of Sylvan and Verona Beach are located on the sandy eastern shore of Oneida Lake. This twenty-two mile lake, and its geographic orientation, affords this setting spectacular sunsets. These factors made the eastern shore a desirable vacation destination in the nineteenth century, and a thriving resort community developed along Wood Creek.

Originally, Wood Creek had been improved in the late eighteenth century by the Western Inland Lock Navigation Company as part of that private entity’s effort to link the Mohawk River to Lake Ontario. [Read more…] about A Canal Gunpowder Blast: The Day Verona Beach’s Waterfront Was Razed

Belmont’s Terminal Course Survived Dark Days of Horse Racing

June 27, 2021 by Bill Orzell Leave a Comment

Steeplechase and hunt racing have long annals in the Empire State, and with more interest recently in turf racing, some long forgotten aspects of this history in New York are interesting to explore.

A dedicated turf and steeplechase venue, known as Belmont Park Terminal Course, operated on the Queens/Nassau County boundary from 1907 to 1927. [Read more…] about Belmont’s Terminal Course Survived Dark Days of Horse Racing

Corinth’s 1919 German–American Club Fire

June 24, 2021 by Guest Contributor Leave a Comment

In the early morning hours of July 4, 1919, a fire alarm was sounded in the village of Corinth, Saratoga County. Many residents thought some kids were celebrating Independence Day a bit early, but when the International Paper Mill fire whistle sounded everyone knew it was real.

The popular German-American Club next to a creek on lower Pine Street was ablaze. [Read more…] about Corinth’s 1919 German–American Club Fire

Rangers Respond: Lost Child, Illegal Fires, Injured Lake George Hiker

April 27, 2021 by Editorial Staff Leave a Comment

New York State Department of Environmental Conservation Forest Rangers respond to search and rescue incidents in the Adirondacks. 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: Lost Child, Illegal Fires, Injured Lake George Hiker

Residential Brush Burning Prohibited Through May 14th

April 23, 2021 by Editorial Staff Leave a Comment

Open burning of debris is the largest single cause of spring wildfires in New York State. When temperatures are warmer and the past fall’s debris and leaves dry out, wildfires can start and spread easily and be further fueled by winds and a lack of green vegetation. [Read more…] about Residential Brush Burning Prohibited Through May 14th

Prescribed Burn At Shawangunk Grasslands

March 26, 2021 by Editorial Staff Leave a Comment

On March 15th, NYS State Department of Conservation Forest Rangers in Region 3 assisted the U.S. Fish & Wildlife Service (USFWS) with a prescribed burn at the Shawangunk Grasslands National Wildlife Refuge.

The Refuge is located in Ulster County, NY, at the site of the former Galeville Military Airport. The airport was decommissioned in 1994 and turned over to the United States Fish and Wildlife Service in 1999.

The annual statewide ban prohibiting residential brush burning will begin March 16th, and run through May 14th. With spring approaching, DEC is reminding residents that conditions for wildfires are heightened in springtime when most wildfires occur. [Read more…] about Residential Brush Burning Now Prohibited in NYS