Woods fire is fully contained, chief says
NEW PALTZ, N.Y. » A wildfire that consumed nearly 5 acres of forest on the Mohonk Preserve ridge was fully contained by Friday night, the New Paltz Fire Department said.
“After fighting steep treacherous terrain, heat, rain, bees, rattlesnakes, limited visibility, fatigue and, most of all, the fire, we can now say that this fire is 100% contained,” Fire Chief Cory Wirthmann said in a prepared statement.
Wirthmann said incident commanders met at the end of the day Friday and “made a decision to wrap up the bulk of operations based on expert reporting from field crew bosses and the operations section chief.”
He said the cause and origin of the blaze remained under investigation.
There were no injuries to any first responders or civilians, and no structures were damaged or even threatened during the fire,
which began on Wednesday, according to a fire department press release. Damage to property was contained to the 4.6 acres of the ridge.
With the fire contained, the Mohonk Preserve Spring Farm Trailhead reopened, and Cragswood Road, which was used as a staging area for emergency responders, reopened to all traffic, with the exception of the turn around at the end. That will remain closed while operations continue to wind down over the weekend, Wirthmann said.
He also said state forest rangers will continue monitoring and patrolling the area.
In addition to the New Paltz Fire Department, the Gardiner, Highland, Walker Valley, Accord, Esopus, Tillson, Modena, Ulster Hose, Marlborough, Bloomington and Rifton fire departments fought the blaze, with assistance from the New Paltz Rescue Squad, New Paltz Police Department, Ulster County Sheriff’s Office, Ulster County Department of Emergency Services and Emergency Management, state forest rangers, Mohonk Preserve rangers, the New York City Department of Environmental Protection, Mohonk Mountain House staff, the town of New Paltz Highway Department, the Village of New Paltz Department of Public Works, the New Paltz Fire Department Auxiliary and New York State Police Aviation.
Wirthmann thanked “all parties involved in making this fire event a success in limiting the amount of spread which allowed us to preserve countless more acres from potentially perishing.”