State's season for controlled forest, grassland fires to start soon

New York's "burn bosses” will set controlled fires, which actually can make forests and fields healthier, from late March to early May, starting on Long Island, the state Department of Environmental Conservation said Friday.

Those individuals, all certified forest rangers, last year “burned hundreds of acres of grassland habitat and dozens of acres of forested lands,” the DEC said, including at two of its biggest Island tracts, the Otis Pike Pine Barrens State Forest and the Rocky Point Pine Barrens State Forest, plus smaller areas in Suffolk County.

The DEC said it plans to release its plan for Long Island's 2023 planned blazes as soon as next week. 

Burning underbrush robs any future fires of fuel; this also kills unwelcome insects and plants; and lets in more sunlight, aiding young trees, experts say. 

Vowing to alert the public before igniting any blazes, the DEC noted, "the public is encouraged to report smoke columns to local authorities."

And New Yorkers are barred from burning brush from March 16 to May 14.

Every year, the DEC said, its rangers put out dozens of wildfires that consume hundreds of acres.

"Open burning of debris is the single-largest cause of spring wildfires in New York State," the agency said.

The DEC will post the Fire Danger Map for the 2023 fire season on its website, https://www.dec.ny.gov/, once there is a moderate risk anywhere in New York.