A New York state-wide burn ban went into effect Tuesday, and will continue until Nov. 30, due to increased risk of wildfires as drought conditions linger.
Gov. Kathy Hochul’s office announced the ban on outdoor burning as multiple agencies battled wildfires in Orange and Ulster counties in the lower Hudson Valley region, and National Weather Service issued “red flag” warnings for the mid-Hudson, New York City, Long Island and Capital regions as well as portions of the Southern Tier and the Mohawk Valley.
With the burn ban in effect, throughout the state, uncontained campfires, recreational fires and open fires for cooking are prohibited, as is the starting of outdoor fires for the purpose of disposing of brush and debris. Still permissible are backyard fire pits, small, contained cooking fires, and contained campfires less than 3 feet in height and 4 feet in length, width or diameter.
A map posted by the state Department of Environmental Conservation shows a low risk of wildfire danger in the Lake Ontario Plains Fire Danger Rating Area in which Niagara, Erie, Orleans, and Genesee counties are included.
The risk also is low in the Adirondack FDRAs, and moderate in the Southern Tier and Leatherstocking FDRAs, the map shows. All other areas, including the St. Lawrence, Upper Hudson, Hudson, Catskill and Long Island (including metropolitan NYC) areas, are labeled at high risk of wildfires. No areas of the state were deemed at “very high” or “extreme” risk.
According to the governor’s office, as of Tuesday afternoon, the main wildfire in Ulster County, the Jennings Creek/Sterling State Park wildfire, had grown to encompass 5,000 acres, half in New York and half in New Jersey, and was 10% contained in both states. A wildfire in the town of Denning, Ulster County, was 95% contained within 630 acres.
From 2007 to 2023, New York state had an average of 117 wildfires per year, with an average of 1,400 acres burned per year.