Rangers fight wildfires in Herkimer, St. Lawrence counties

Recent DEC Forest Ranger actions:

Town of Webb
Herkimer County
Wildland Fire: On June 24 at 1:40 p.m., Herkimer County 911 contacted DEC’s Ray Brook Dispatch requesting assistance with a backcountry wildfire on Panther Mountain. Four Forest Rangers responded to assist the Old Forge Fire Department with a one-acre smoldering wildfire in the cliffs and rocks at the Panther Mountain overlook, burning in deep spruce duff 0.6 miles from a private road. Volunteer firefighters and Rangers knocked down the fire, preventing its spread. Over the following three days, seven Rangers utilized a State Police Aviation helicopter with water bucket drops, hand tools, and set up a half-mile water hose pumping operation up 600 vertical feet in elevation to continually douse several areas of the fire with water. The fire is now in patrol status.

Town of Fowler
St. Lawrence County
Wildland Fire: On June 22 at 4:45 p.m., Region 6 Forest Rangers received reports of a wildland forest fire near Chub Lake. Two Forest Rangers arrived at 6 p.m. to find approximately 4.5 acres of active flames and a widespread ground fire. With darkness approaching, Forest Rangers ordered resources for the next day. On the morning of June 23, the fire grew to five acres. Rangers constructed a fire line around the perimeter to prevent further growth and constructed a hose lay with laterals to suppress the fire. On June 24, Rangers suppressed hot spots to eliminate any remaining ground fire. The fire remains in patrol status.

Town of Harrietstown
Franklin County
Wilderness Rescue: On June 22 at 6:20 p.m., DEC’s Ray Brook Dispatch received a call from a man reporting an injured hiker on the Sawtooth Mountain Range in the High Peaks Wilderness Area. The caller said he received a distress signal from a friend’s personal locator device after a member of their hiking party sustained a non-weight bearing ankle injury. The group provided coordinates that placed the hikers deep in the wilderness approximately 2.5 miles off the Pine Pond trail. The hikers had enough provisions for three days and reported that a physician was part of their group. Forest Ranger Lt. Chris Kostoss advised the hikers that the safest course of action would be to retrieve the injured hiker the next morning. At 7 a.m., Forest Rangers Kevin Burns and Chris DiCintio headed to the New York State Police Aviation hangar in Lake Clear to prepare for a hoist operation to retrieve the 70-year-old injured hiker from Niagara. The helicopter lowered Ranger DiCintio down to the group of hikers and the Ranger splinted the man’s injured ankle before putting him in a harness and assisting him to a suitable hoist location. The helicopter transported the injured man to a local hospital for medical treatment and returned to the scene to retrieve Ranger DiCintio before returning to the hanger.

Photo: Forest Rangers monitor wildfire on Panther Mountain/DEC