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Clinton and Essex Counties
Kayak Patrol: On April 7, Forest Rangers Foutch and Praczkajlo patrolled 20 miles of white water on the east and west branches of the Ausable River. In kayaks, Rangers checked river conditions and flow. While training for rescues and flood response, the Rangers also assisted fisheries staff with stocking of hundreds of brown trout. Video of part of the kayak patrol is available (video, 84 MB) at DEC’s website.
Kayak Patrol on Ausable River. NYS DEC photo.
Town of Cambridge
Washington County
Wildland Fire: On April 9 at 4:43 p.m., Ray Brook Dispatch requested Forest Ranger assistance with a brush fire in the town of Cambridge. Ranger Carabetta responded to the six-acre fire along with multiple local fire departments. At 7:01 p.m., the fire was put into patrol status.
DEC reminds New Yorkers that the annual statewide ban prohibiting residential brush burning began March 16 and runs through May 14. More information is available on the DEC website.
Cambridge fire. NYS DEC photo.
Telecommunicators Week: DEC recognizes National Public Safety Telecommunicators Week April 9 to 15. Dispatchers are an invaluable emergency response resource, as they are often the first person receiving a call for help.
Be sure to properly prepare and plan before entering the backcountry. Visit DEC’s Hike Smart NY, Adirondack Backcountry Information, and Catskill Backcountry Information webpages for more information.
If a person needs a Forest Ranger, whether it’s for a search and rescue, to report a wildfire, or to report illegal activity on state lands and easements, they should call 833-NYS-RANGERS. If a person needs urgent assistance, they can call 911. To contact a Forest Ranger for information about a specific location, the DEC website has phone numbers for every Ranger listed by region.
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General inquiries about the Adirondack Almanack should be directed to editor
Item in today’s Forest Ranger Report:
“DEC recognizes National Public Safety Telecommunicators Week April 9 to 15. Dispatchers are an invaluable emergency response resource, as they are often the first person receiving a call for help.
Some history for Adirondack Almanack readers: This recognition of the important work done by DECs dedicated dispatchers at Ray Brook is well deserved and long overdue.
Back in the 1960s when I began my duties as a NYS forest ranger, communications were limited primarily to landline telephone messaging provided during the fire season by the cadre of dedicated Forest Fire Observers on duty in our mountain top fire towers, and also via the telephones which were a required fixture at every ranger home/ headquarters. in those days, forest rangering was most often a family affair, with wives and children routinely answering phone calls and relaying ranger related messages. Some surplus W.W. II sight-to-sight radio equipment was also in limited use.
During the dry fire years of the 1960s, much was done to modernize the capabilities of the forest rangers to respond to all kinds of emergencies. This included the purchase of state-of-the-art two-way radios for the fire towers and district offices, and portable radios (each powered by eleven D cell batteries) for forest rangers to carry while out on patrol. This modern technology paved the way for the creation of the first forest ranger dispatch system which was inaugurated during the 1970s, not at Ray Brook, but rather in the Saranac Lake residence of two dedicated local people – Roland and Jackie Patnode.
Roland was the technical wizard of the team, and Jackie was the caring communicator whose voice was known and appreciated by every Adirondack ranger that she helped and kept vigil with during the long nights while backcountry emergencies played out to uncertain ends.
Many years of essential communications during nighttimes and weekends were provided by this dedicated couple from their home, enabling Adirondack rangers to respond to countless emergencies and to carry out their duties with reliable communications that provided greater safety and efficiency for all.
The work of this devoted local couple set the professional standard for the generations of dispatchers who followed them and have continued to provide this service from their current quarters at the DEC headquarters at Ray Brook.
A tip of my old ranger Stetson goes out to each and every one of our dedicated dispatchers, then and now, in appreciation for their fine work in support of the forest rangers.
As a freelance photographer I would like to photograph the damage done by fire. Can you tell me where the Washington County fire was. I will be glad to share my images with you.
https://vimeo.com/797445991/60a183f3dd