2 New Yorkers Battling Wildfires in Canada; 1st Time in 18 Years

Two New Yorkers are making history heading to Canada, but not for a good reason.

The past week has seen a lot of sun, with not much rain to match it. That's unfortunately caused wildfires to spark across New York State, spreading even faster because of the dried up trees and grass. What's worse, we aren't the only ones suffering.

While our firefighters and wilderness experts are fighting wildfires in the states, even more fires are raging in our neighbor's forests up north. In order to help, NYS Department of Environmental Conservation Commissioner Seggos is deploying a Forest Ranger and expert wildland firefighter to help their efforts.

Across the region, dry weather is once again creating ideal fire conditions, and Forest Rangers and other trained wildland firefighters are ready to assist our fellow states, neighboring nations, and communities.

The DEC Forest Ranger will become the crew boss of an interstate Northeastern Forest Fire Protection Compact crew comprised of firefighters from Connecticut, New Hampshire, and Maine to assist efforts in Nova Scotia.

This actually marks the first time a New York State Forest Ranger is being deployed to Canada since the Quebec wildfires in 2005. In the states, about one or two crews from New York are sent to help other parts of our country with large wildfires every year.

Last August was particularly bad in our state. Forest Rangers were working around the clock slow down the Napanoch Point fire, which ended up burning 142 acres total. Rangers received help from multiple agencies, including 20 firefighters from Quebec.

New York State is currently listed as a "high risk" for fires. You can get more information by visiting the DEC's website.