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More Brush Fires

Posted: Mon Apr 25, 2016 2:51 pm
by dave
Over the past two weeks, there has been a steady increase in brush fires. About a week ago a brush fire in Jewett spread to a structure and burned it to the ground.

This past weekend, a large forest fire erupted Sam's Point in the Gunks. As of Sunday over 300 acres had burned. Gov Cuomo has now sent over 100 people to help fight the fire. It still continues to rage out of control. Hopefully on Tuesday the rain may help bring it to an end. It was reported that it was started by an individual with an illegal fire, and it got out of control.

Remember: There is a mandatory fire ban between March 15 and May 15.

Re: More Brush Fires

Posted: Mon Apr 25, 2016 11:26 pm
by mike
The Sam's Point fire has now burned 700 acres with no containment in sight. Here are a few pics:

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Re: More Brush Fires

Posted: Tue Apr 26, 2016 11:07 am
by bikenhike
Hey guys, I just read that there was a fire yesterday in the town of Shandaken. I guess this guy had a fire that got out of control and burned five acres. They had 20 fire companies there to put it out. I bet he got one of those $500 tickets. It's raining real good out there. Hopefully it would put out the sams point fire. It is really dry out there.

Re: More Brush Fires

Posted: Tue Apr 26, 2016 9:33 pm
by mtnclimber
As of tonight, 3,000 acres have burned. Rain today helped slow it down, but it is not out.

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Re: More Brush Fires

Posted: Wed Apr 27, 2016 7:31 pm
by mtnclimber
CRAGSMOOR—The wildfire at Sam’s Point Preserve on the Shawangunk Ridge is now 60 percent contained, according to officials, who remain vigilant as the temperatures rise and the humidity levels fall. Jim Hay, a public information officer at the New York State Incident Management Team said Tuesday’s moisture gave firefighters the break they needed in fighting the blaze that has been burning since Saturday afternoon. “Basically, we’re continuing the defensive operations that were started yesterday,” Hay said. “We ran some bulldozer lines. We increased some of the defensive lines by hand and with bulldozers and we ran some hose lines up to areas where we thought we’d have a problem once the weather breaks, so we’re facilitating getting water on the fire quickly.” Hay said Tuesday’s estimate of acreage consumed by the wildfire—a figure given by state officials—was slightly off. The actual acreage buned is 1,897, he said. Meanwhile, two helicopters still are being used in water-drop operations, and another is reserved as a Medivac, if needed, Hay said. A total of 300 personnel from 53 agencies remain onsite and are closely monitoring the drying spell. Three minor injuries have been reported, including a firefighter who is being evaluated for dehydration, according to the state Incident Management Team. “Today, we’re waiting to see how the weather change affects the fire activity and if the moisture we got yesterday was enough to get through the top level. “What happens is if it was only the top layer that actually got a good soaking …with today’s temperature, it’s going to dry off, and we still have the vegetation underneath that’s still dry and that could present the problem of reignition,” Hay said. Earlier in the week, cell towers in the path of the fire were initially threatened, Hay said, but crews used bulldozers to remove vegetation nearby and created an area where there was “no fuel to burn,” he said. Firefighters from several area departments have been working alongside officials from the Department of Environmental Conservation, Parks, Recreation and Historic Preservation, Office of Fire Prevention and Control and Office of Emergency Management. The fire, which started on Saturday afternoon near the Verkeerder Kill Falls trail, has been the focus of many residents, who have followed its progress and posted photos and videos on social media. Hay said he knows people want to hear good news, but he said they may have to wait. “We’re far from calling this under control. When they talk about containment…they talk about the ability to get in there and cut the fire lines and make it into a box, so it reaches a certain point and there’s no fuel anymore for it to burn,” he said. A tactic called “cold trailing” also will be employed to make certain the ash no longer is burning, Hay said.

Re: More Brush Fires

Posted: Wed Apr 27, 2016 7:32 pm
by mtnclimber
There is a lot of dispute on the number of acres burned. I have seen 1574, 1897, and 3000.

Re: More Brush Fires

Posted: Wed Apr 27, 2016 10:04 pm
by Jon
those are pitch pines...

Re: More Brush Fires

Posted: Thu Apr 28, 2016 10:05 pm
by Jon
map

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Re: More Brush Fires

Posted: Mon May 02, 2016 10:25 pm
by dave
Someone Emailed us today stating that it burned 2,028 acres. Thanks for the map Jon!