You now have a chance to take to the skies and see how pilots put out the August wildfires in Upstate New York.

The NYS Department of Environmental Conservation (DEC) recently responded to a massive wildfire in Ulster County. What started with only a couple trees at Napanoch Point, quickly spread over the week to over 270 acres of Minnewaska State Park.

 

In order to combat the fires, the DEC deployed two Blackhawk helicopters to help extinguish the flames. On August 30th alone, the choppers completed a total of 82 bucket drops.

This was in addition to the 87 drops that were also executed by two other helicopters being flown by the New York State Police.

Credit - NYS Department of Environmental Conservation
Credit - NYS Department of Environmental Conservation
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After 8 long days, crews were eventually able to control the blaze. Once everything was considered safe, the Minnewaska State Park was able to reopen again on Wednesday, September 7th. Some areas are still closed, in order to rehabilitate the woods, minimize erosion, and prevent potential invasive species from spreading.

It truly is a marvel to see these firefighters, pilots, and emergency rescue teams at work. Though wildfires in New York aren't as common as they are out west, they can still happen before you know it.

Credit - NYS Department of Environmental Conservation
Credit - NYS Department of Environmental Conservation
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Governor Kathy Hochul has actually sent emergency responders and Park Rangers out to states like Wyoming to help battle the fires. It goes to show that New York's emergency responders are always ready to fight fires, whether they are at home or across the nation.

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