New York forest rangers helped hikers with injuries, fading lights and navigational trouble in a series of Adirondack calls from Sept. 21-25. They also spent more than a day containing a ground fire and assisted in two recoveries, according to the Department of Environmental Conservation's Oct. 1 weekly report.
The incidents in the report took place in Essex, Franklin, Hamilton and Clinton counties, outside the Finger Lakes. The DEC's statewide ranger figures provide a broader view of the service, but the weekly incidents should not be presented as local Finger Lakes calls.
Lost and injured hikers
Near Jay Mountain in Essex County, a ranger found a lost 65-year-old hiker from Setauket on Sept. 21 and escorted the person down. The hiker did not have a map, compass or headlamp. Rangers received the call at 3:28 p.m. and cleared it at 8:39 p.m., the DEC said.
Later that night near Lookout Mountain in Wilmington, a 30-year-old solo hiker from Troy could no longer see in the dark, and both the hiker's flashlight and phone batteries were running low. Two rangers located the person, assisted them up the toll road and drove them to their vehicle. The call was cleared at 9:57 p.m.
On Sept. 22, a ranger helped Tupper Lake emergency workers move an 84-year-old Harrietstown resident who had suffered a head injury near a lean-to along the Raquette River. The patient was carried by ATV to Coreys Road and transferred to an ambulance, according to the report.
That evening at Poke-O-Moonshine Mountain in Chesterfield, rangers and firefighters carried a 49-year-old hiker from Whitehall to a trailhead after emergency medical workers treated the person for an asthma attack. The DEC said one ranger was diverted from another recovery to assist. The rescue was cleared at 10:22 p.m.
Two hikers from New Jersey injured their knees during the same Mount Marcy outing Sept. 25. Summit stewards and rangers splinted the injuries and helped the 31- and 30-year-old hikers reach Marcy Dam. The DEC said the second injury occurred while responders were already assisting the first hiker; the call was cleared at 7:57 p.m.
Also Sept. 25, rangers used ATVs and then hiked to locate a 72-year-old solo hiker who had wandered far from the Silver Lake Mountain trail near a forest road in Black Brook. The person had cuts and scrapes from moving through dense vegetation, declined medical attention and was given a ride back to their vehicle.
Fire and recoveries
Rangers reached a ground fire on the south shore of Owls Head Pond in Hamilton County at about 3:45 p.m. Sept. 23. The burning area was about 50 feet across and extended deep into the ground, requiring crews to work on hot spots overnight and bring in more tools the following morning. The DEC put the fire in patrol status at 7:45 p.m. Sept. 24; the report does not state its cause or a final acreage.
Rangers also recovered a 45-year-old person from Glens Falls who was found dead near a cliff overlook in the Giant Mountain Wilderness Area on Sept. 22. Saratoga County emergency dispatchers had requested a welfare check. The DEC said rangers carried the person to a road and transferred custody to the county coroner; it did not establish a cause of death in the report.
On Sept. 25, rangers joined local fire departments, the Clinton County Technical Rescue Team and Ausable Chasm staff to retrieve a 60-year-old person from Keeseville whose body had been found in the water under a bridge. A ladder truck lowered a litter to the site, and the person was lifted to the bridge and met by the Essex County coroner. The report does not identify a cause of death in that case either.
The DEC included a mental health resource with its report: people who need support can call or text 988. On Sept. 26, rangers also joined an Out of the Darkness walk in Lake Placid in memory of two ranger leaders who had died by suicide.
Statewide workload and backcountry preparation
In the first six months of 2026, DEC rangers conducted 126 search-and-rescue missions, extinguished 65 wildfires covering more than 215 acres and participated in 54 prescribed fires covering 1,355 acres. Those are half-year figures. The department separately reported 362 rescues, 202 wildfires covering 840 acres and 68 prescribed fires covering 1,649 acres for all of 2025, so the two periods are not direct annual comparisons.
The department says hikers should plan routes and carry supplies before entering the backcountry. The week's calls underscore the role of navigation, lighting and charged devices, but the report does not claim that equipment would have prevented every incident. For a ranger response to a search, wildfire or violation on state land, the DEC lists 833-NYS-RANGERS; it directs people needing urgent assistance to call 911.
FingerLakes1.com is the region’s leading all-digital news publication. The company was founded in 1998 and has been keeping residents informed for more than two decades. Have a lead? Send it to news@fingerlakes1.com.