State Police Benevolent Association rangers who traveled to Nova Scotia and Quebec to help with record-breaking Canadian wildfires this summer want state lawmakers to take action next year to ensure that the state is better prepared should a similar event affect New York in New York. the future
A perfect marriage of dry conditions and warm temperatures has fueled hundreds of wildfires across Canada. burning more than 27 million hectares across the country, or an area the size of the state of Virginia. The ongoing fires caused a smoky haze to cover much of the state last month, leading to a decline in air quality.
Fifteen New York rangers traveled to Nova Scotia and Quebec to control some of the flames and are reflecting on what they learned as a crew continues to help in eastern Quebec City.
Art Perryman, director of state rangers for the state PBA, helped fight a 60,000-acre fire in Nova Scotia last month along with firefighters from other northeastern states. An arsonist set fire to a patch of wild land, building to a magnitude Perryman said he had never seen in that climate after a summer of little rain, low humidity and winds.
“In Nova Scotia, it’s been over 30 days without rain,” he said Wednesday. “…It’s very difficult to even fight the fire because that level of fierce flame and that intensity, you really can’t even get close.”
Perryman, who has been on the job for more than 22 years, says experience shows wildfires of this unprecedented size could be possible in the state under the right conditions.
It calls on lawmakers to review and modernize the state’s fire management policies, including the possibility of prescribed or controlled burns currently prohibited in the Adirondack and Catskill parks. Dead and diseased wood and vegetation can serve as fuel for wildfires, which Perryman said should be burned under the right conditions and supervision.
“You do it periodically so that when there’s a wildfire, you don’t have that fuel load to make it just as destructive,” Perryman said.
Prescribed burns are allowed in fire-prone areas such as the Albany Pine Bush and Long Island Pine Barrens and reduce stand density, fuel accumulation and manage invasive species, the Department of Environmental Conservation said in a statement Wednesday. Department officials would not indicate their support for expanding where prescribed burns are allowed.
“Long-term stewardship of New York’s forests is a priority for DEC and will ensure that New Yorkers can continue to experience the vital benefits of forests, including protecting water and air, conserving the habitat of wildlife and the employment of thousands of people in the forest products, outdoor recreation and tourism industries,”
Typically, 12 to 15 state rangers are sent out of state each year to help put out major forest or forest fires.
PBA members in support of the change also want lawmakers to create a fund to help increase the number of rangers sent annually to fight large fires elsewhere. They propose the fund could be used to more quickly reimburse ranger divisions for additional labor costs while members serve elsewhere, or to replace aging wildland firefighting vehicles and equipment.
Rob Praczkajlo, a 23-year ranger with the state PBA, led a 14-person crew last month that helped control burned areas in Quebec. His crew helped fight four of the 115 fires burning in the area at the time caused by lightning and destroyed 4.5 million acres with flames that engulfed tree to tree with 400-foot flames. The state’s Adirondack Park is approximately 6 million acres.
“From June 1, when all these fires started until we arrived, they had basically been picked off and we’re using all of their resources to protect the communities,” he said.
Praczkajlo said rangers who work in a variety of different conditions are akin to gaining years of experience in a matter of weeks and it helps them be better trained with helicopters and fighting methods to respond to a similar fire in the state.
“When they go to a fire in New York and the fires are burning with similar fuel types, they have an anticipation of how that fire is going to behave,” Praczkajlo said. “…that ranger may never be on a fire in New York State for two or three years, or he’s on a very small fire. So the seven rangers I took to Quebec, they won five to ten years of firefighting experience equal to what they would have in New York.”
About 95 percent of wildfires in the state are caused by humans, according to the DEC.
“DEC is not aware of any current data that indicates a trend toward worsening wildfires in New York State, but will continue to closely monitor any potential changes to determine whether policy or other changes to current practices are needed.” , according to a statement from the department on Wednesday.
According to the department, the state’s 25-year average for wildfires suppressed by DEC rangers between 1998 and 2022 was 190 fires per year on 1,641 acres per year. The 10-year average from 2013 to 2022 is 135 fires per year burning 1,422 hectares per year.
The state spring burn ban enacted in 2009 the number of annual fires and the burned surface have decreased.
Perryman plans to meet with state Environmental Conservation Commissioner Basil Seggos about lessons learned in Canada and desired changes in the coming weeks.
Meanwhile, to prepare, DEC rangers provide basic wildfire training to local fire service firefighters, including annual refresher courses for all qualified wildland firefighters statewide, said Lt. ranger Scott Jackson in a statement. DEC also participates in training and exercises hosted by the state Division of Homeland Security and Emergency Services Incident Management Team, DHSES Office of Fire Prevention and Control, and the Fire Management Team ‘FDNY incidents.
“These refreshers often include local examples and discussions of recent incidents,” Jackson said. “…DEC has also participated in the New York Wildfire and Incident Management Academy since its inception in 1997. This academy provides training and exercises in wildfire suppression and incident management in a variety of local, state and federal agencies.”
The projected impacts of climate change could contribute to more frequent and severe wildfires, but DEC officials say it’s difficult to link a climate change trend to most incidents caused by human actions.
