A landowner burning junk mail in a wooded fire pit sparked a 4.9-acre wildfire on Matthews Road in Burdett that took several days to extinguish, according to the New York State Department of Environmental Conservation.
The Schuyler County fire was among the fires, rescues and training operations detailed in DEC’s Nov. 13 report on Forest Ranger activity across New York.
Forest Ranger Miller responded to the Burdett fire at 2:30 p.m. Nov. 4. It burned through timber litter, and multiple fire departments contained it by 5:35 p.m.
The landowner reported increased fire activity at 10:05 p.m. Rangers returned and found that the containment line remained intact. Four rangers continued extinguishing remaining hot spots the next morning, and the fire was declared out Nov. 7.
Bonfire spreads in Allegany County
In the Allegany County town of Wirt, an unattended bonfire spread into the woods near East Hill Road on Nov. 2, burning 7.1 acres, DEC said.
Rangers Owen and Thaine joined the Allentown, Friendship and Richburg fire departments at 4 p.m. Allegany County Ambulance, county drones and New York State Police also assisted. Crews brought the fire under control by 5:45 p.m., and rangers spent the following two days putting out hot spots.
Another Nov. 2 fire began in a fire pit in Union Vale, Dutchess County, before spreading to a shed and nearby woods. Rangers Grillo and Pries responded at 2:30 p.m. The Beekman, Lagrange and Union Vale fire departments and rangers declared the half-acre fire out at 6:14 p.m.
In Woodstock, Ulster County, an 11-acre fire off Abby Road in the Phoenicia Mount Tobias Wild Forest destroyed a parked vehicle Nov. 4. Rangers responded at 2:20 p.m., joined by the Cedar Grove, Olive, Phoenicia, West Hurley and Woodstock fire departments. Crews contained the fire by 7:30 p.m.
Rangers assist injured and lost hikers
A 17-year-old experiencing severe leg cramps needed help on Wittenburg Mountain in Shandaken on Nov. 3. Ulster County requested ranger assistance at 6:02 p.m., and Rangers Allwine, Cowart, Lupole and Martin responded.
Rangers advised the hiking party to rest, eat and drink while awaiting help. They reached the group at 9 p.m., helped them to Woodland Valley Campground and provided additional food and electrolytes. The response ended at 9:15 p.m.
In Hague, Warren County, Rangers Donegan and Morehouse responded at 6:40 p.m. Nov. 6 to a hunter with a possible broken leg about a quarter-mile north of Route 8. They reached the 63-year-old from Averil Park at 8:27 p.m., splinted the leg and helped the hunter to a Horicon Ambulance for transport to a hospital.
Five rangers responded to Buck Mountain in Fort Ann, Washington County, at 11:35 a.m. Nov. 7 after a hiker suffered a severe ankle injury near the summit. The first ranger arrived at 1:05 p.m. and splinted the injury. At 3:15 p.m., rangers secured the 58-year-old Queensbury resident in a wheeled litter and transported the hiker to an ambulance. The response ended at 6:20 p.m.
That night, rangers began searching from the Denning Trailhead in Ulster County after two hikers became separated from their hiking partner. Rangers Allwine and Schweider responded at 9:55 p.m.; state police and Rangers Martin and Rusher joined at 11:45 p.m.
Allwine found the hikers, ages 39 and 58, off trail on Lone Mountain at 3:30 a.m. Nov. 8. It was raining and 40 degrees. He gave them warm liquids and walked them out, with the response ending at 6:25 a.m.
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Controlled burn and wildfire training
Rangers Clute and Griffin joined the United States Wildland Fire Service and Albany Pine Bush staff for a controlled burn covering 10 acres in Albany on Nov. 4.
DEC said prescribed fires can improve habitat, help control invasive species and reduce accumulated wood and other fuels that could feed wildfires. The agency conducts the regulated burns when conditions allow crews to meet safety and land-management goals.
In Lysander, Onondaga County, Ranger Oldroyd led an S-130 field exercise Nov. 6 as part of National Wildfire Coordinating Group training. More than 40 DEC employees and SUNY College of Environmental Science and Forestry students participated.
During the first nine months of 2026, rangers conducted 277 search-and-rescue missions, extinguished 93 wildfires covering more than 224 acres and participated in 54 prescribed fires covering 1,355 acres, according to DEC.
For all of 2025, the agency reported 362 search-and-rescue missions, 202 wildfires covering 840 acres and 68 prescribed fires covering 1,649 acres. Ranger cases resulted in more than 1,100 tickets and arrests, and 41 rangers deployed to fire assignments in 10 other states.
DEC urged people to plan and prepare before entering the backcountry. To request a ranger for a search or rescue, report a wildfire or report illegal activity on state lands and easements, call 833-NYS-RANGERS. For urgent assistance, call 911.
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