Blanket of smoke covers capital region: What to know

ALBANY, N.Y. (NEWS10) — Residents across the Capital Region and beyond experienced smoky conditions outside on Sunday, all throughout the day. According to fire departments across the state, these uncommon conditions are due to multiple wildfires spreading in the downstate and New Jersey region.

Vischer Ferry Fire Department Chief Tim Kimball said the smoky conditions improved in the evening on Sunday compared to earlier in the day, but there are still a few things residents should know.

“We’re having an extended smoke condition if you look outside it’ll look like somebody’s burning leaves in their backyard,” said Kimball.

The smoke that folks saw Sunday came from brush fires particularly in the Catskills and in downstate counties such as Dutchess, Sullivan and Ulster Counties. Jen Metzger, Ulster County executive said one of those wildfires took place in Ulster County on Saturday. Crews are still working to contain it and put it out.

“At this point the fire is about 90% contained. It’s in the town of Denning so in the Catskills region of Ulster County,” said Metzger.

The Department of Environmental Conservation issued an air quality health advisory Sunday evening for the New York City Metro, Lower Hudson Valley and Upper Hudson Valley regions, including Albany, Columbia, Fulton, Greene, Montgomery, Rensselaer, Saratoga, Schenectady, Schoharie and Washington Counties.

Governor Kathy Hochul released a statement which said that the air quality alert would be in effect until 11:59 p.m. Sunday. Since Ulster County is a more rural area, Metzger said its areas like these that suffer during periods of drought.

“This area is extremely forested, Ulster County is very rural and of course the Catskills is all forest,” said Metzger.

“With higher winds, these fires can get out of control really fast and that’s really what’s going on down south,” said Kimball.

Around 185 firefighters have been battling this blaze since Saturday. NEWS10 received a handful of comments about hazy skies Sunday afternoon. Chief Kimball believes that the amount of time the smoke stays in the sky is dependent upon how long it takes for the fires to be put out. Which is something Ulster County is working.

“Right now we’re focusing on making sure that all towns – all towns as of today have enacted fire burn bans and we’re just making sure those are enforced,” said Metzger.

Chief Kimball also added that while the capital region has seen smoke from wildfires in the past, this time has been different.

“Whether it’s from wildfires up in Canada we’ve had that come down too, but the smoke tends to stay pretty high in the atmosphere, it gives you more of like a hazy type of a sunny day. This type of a situation where the smoke is staying pretty low is a rare occurrence for us,” said Kimball.

Metzger said she does not know how long it will take for the Denning brush fire to be completely put out. She hopes that rain will come in Sunday night and help tame the fire.

The Schoharie Office of Emergency Services said they will be deploying four brush fire equipped UTV’s and a hand crew on Monday morning. They also said units will be deployed to the Greenwood Lakes Fire Department in Orange County. Stick with NEWS10 for the latest updates.