Governor Kathy Hochul has announced that 11 members of the New York State Department of Environmental Conservation (DEC) are heading to Colorado to assist in the fight against multiple wildfires burning across the state.
The deployment includes six DEC Forest Rangers and four staff from the Division of Lands and Forests, who will serve on the Pagosa Ranger District in the San Juan National Forest. They will assist with initial attack efforts amid extreme fire danger and potential lightning activity. One additional Forest Ranger has been assigned to the South Rim Fire in Gunnison National Park, which has already burned more than 3,600 acres and remains uncontained.
“New Yorkers are always ready to volunteer when other states need our help,” Governor Hochul said. “We’re fortunate to have well-trained incident command and wildland firefighting experts in New York State to lend emergency assistance and support. I thank all the responders working the fires for their efforts and look forward to their safe return.”
The deployment is expected to last about two weeks.
New York has a long history of supporting wildfire response efforts across the country. Since first sending a crew west in 1979, the state typically deploys one or two teams each year to assist with large-scale fire events. The experience gained is valuable for managing both wildfires and emergency incidents within New York.
Travel and personnel costs are covered either by the U.S. Forest Service or reimbursed through mutual aid agreements between states and federal land agencies.
Have all the Finger Lakes news from Finger Lakes News Radio delivered to your email every morning for FREE! Sign up by clicking here
