Blackhead Mtn Forest Fire
Posted: Tue Oct 01, 2019 9:24 pm
Blackhead Mtn in Greene County
On September 27, 2019 at 3:30pm people in Cairo New York noticed smoke coming from Blackhead Mountain at approximately 3100'. Calls were placed with 911 of the forest fire. New York State Forest Rangers Katharine Fox, Christine Nelson, Hannah O'Connor, and Dylan McCartney responded to the location. Fire departments from Cairo, RoundTop, and Hensonville were called in along with the New York State Police and Sheriff. They fought the fire until it became dark. At that time 1 acre had burned. In the following days more DEC Forest Rangers were brought in to fight the fire. A New York State Police helicopter was also called in to dump water on the fire. It took a large group of people 3 days to contain the fire. If winds were higher, this fire could have raged out of control and endangered homes and lives.
The cause of the fire was an illegal campfire near the trail. The individuals that started the fire then left the site with the campfire still burning. Unfortunately, illegal campfires along the trail have become a huge problem in the Catskill Mountains. Several years ago a similar situation occurred on Acra Point. Sadly, a legal DEC camp site and Lean-to were minutes away from the illegal fire.
The following individuals and organizations that were involved:
New York State Forest Ranger Katharine Fox
New York State Forest Ranger Christine Nelson
New York State Forest Ranger Hannah O'Connor
New York State Forest Ranger Dylan McCartney
New York State Forest Ranger Robert Dawson
New York State Forest Ranger Melissa Milano
New York State Forest Ranger Russell Martin
New York State Forest Ranger Kevin Slade
Cairo Fire Department
RoundTop Fire Department
Hensonville Fire Department
New York State Police
Greene County Sheriff
On September 27, 2019 at 3:30pm people in Cairo New York noticed smoke coming from Blackhead Mountain at approximately 3100'. Calls were placed with 911 of the forest fire. New York State Forest Rangers Katharine Fox, Christine Nelson, Hannah O'Connor, and Dylan McCartney responded to the location. Fire departments from Cairo, RoundTop, and Hensonville were called in along with the New York State Police and Sheriff. They fought the fire until it became dark. At that time 1 acre had burned. In the following days more DEC Forest Rangers were brought in to fight the fire. A New York State Police helicopter was also called in to dump water on the fire. It took a large group of people 3 days to contain the fire. If winds were higher, this fire could have raged out of control and endangered homes and lives.
The cause of the fire was an illegal campfire near the trail. The individuals that started the fire then left the site with the campfire still burning. Unfortunately, illegal campfires along the trail have become a huge problem in the Catskill Mountains. Several years ago a similar situation occurred on Acra Point. Sadly, a legal DEC camp site and Lean-to were minutes away from the illegal fire.
The following individuals and organizations that were involved:
New York State Forest Ranger Katharine Fox
New York State Forest Ranger Christine Nelson
New York State Forest Ranger Hannah O'Connor
New York State Forest Ranger Dylan McCartney
New York State Forest Ranger Robert Dawson
New York State Forest Ranger Melissa Milano
New York State Forest Ranger Russell Martin
New York State Forest Ranger Kevin Slade
Cairo Fire Department
RoundTop Fire Department
Hensonville Fire Department
New York State Police
Greene County Sheriff