Town of Indian Lake
Hamilton County
Wilderness Rescue: On July 28 at 8 p.m., Forest Rangers Miller, Nally, and Thompson responded to a report of a hiker lost on OK Slip Falls. Cell phone coordinates put the 37-year-old from Corinth near Whortleberry Pond, approximately two miles west of OK Slip Falls. After checking the trail register and confirming he was planning to hike OK Slip Falls, Rangers started searching trails in that area.

Ranger Thompson found fresh tracks on a trail heading towards Whortleberry Pond. At 11 p.m. Rangers made voice contact with the hiker who took a wrong trail early in the hike and became turned around. When it was dark, he stopped, built a fire, and called for help. At 11:40 p.m., Rangers located the subject in good condition and walked with him to the trailhead. Resources were clear at 2:07 a.m.

» Continue Reading.

Town of Caroga
Fulton County
Wheeled Litter Training: On July 25, Forest Ranger Lieutenant Kerr and Rangers Nally and Thompson provided wheeled litter training at the Caroga Lake Volunteer Fire Department’s monthly meeting.

Rangers demonstrated how to package a patient into a litter and, with the use of Speculator Fire Department’s litter wheel, Rangers instructed attendees on its installation, use, and rescue application. Fire department members practiced using the wheel on uneven terrain and steep slopes while Rangers demonstrated simple litter belay techniques.

Caroga Lake Fire Department and surrounding mutual aid departments are frequently called upon to assist in wilderness search and rescues in Fulton and Hamilton counties. Continued training and becoming familiar with equipment helps keep personnel prepared for technical wilderness rescues and maintains critical interagency relationships for emergency response in the backcountry.

» Continue Reading.

Town of North Elba
Essex County
Wilderness Rescue: On July 20 at 7:15 a.m., Northern Frontier Camp of Indian Lake contacted Ray Brook Dispatch to report a 17-year-old camper having a seizure near the Flowed Lands Lake. The camper from Delaware was attempting to hike 22 High Peaks in approximately one week. Forest Rangers Evans and Martin responded with the Lake Colden caretaker.

The caretaker reached the subject at the Herbert Brook lean-to and brought them to the Lake Colden Outpost for possible aviation evacuation. At 10:38 a.m., New York State Police (NYSP) Aviation landed at Lake Colden where Rangers helped the subject into the helicopter, which brought the camper to the hospital for further treatment.

» Continue Reading.

Town of North Hudson
Essex County
Wilderness Rescue: On July 11 at 9:40 p.m., Forest Rangers Arnold and Quinn responded to help two hikers stranded on the East Mill Flow Trail. The 21- and 17-year-olds misjudged the distance from their campsite to Round Pond from Sharp Bridge Campground, and couldn’t find their way back in the dark. The pair from Mineville called 911, but the call dropped before they could share information.

At 10:35 p.m., Ranger Quinn located the subjects one mile from the campground. Rangers provided headlamps and helped the hikers back to the campground. Resources were clear at 11:25 p.m.

» Continue Reading.

Town of Minerva
Essex County
Underage Drinking: On July 4 at 1:10 p.m., Forest Rangers responded to a report of a large group of off-duty camp counselors at an underage drinking party off the Boreas Trail in Minerva.

Rangers issued 24 tickets for underaged possession of alcohol on State land and shuttled the subjects back to their camps. Resources were clear at 4:35 p.m.

Town of North Hudson
Essex County
Wilderness Rescue: On July 6 at 2 a.m., Forest Rangers were called to search for a group of campers returning from a hike to Mount Marcy. The 21- and 19-year-old group leaders were with a 15-year-old, two 13-year-olds, and a 12-year-old. Despite rain in the forecast and the group’s general lack of hiking experience, their plan was to hike Marcy and Algonquin in one day.

» Continue Reading.

Town of Schroon
Essex County
Wilderness Rescue: On July 2 at approximately 5 p.m., Forest Ranger Quinn responded to a report of a subject with a compound ankle fracture at Schroon Falls.

The North Hudson Fire Department, Schroon Lake Fire Department, and EMS helped Ranger Quinn carry the 46-year-old from Long Island to a waiting ambulance. Schroon Lake EMS transported the subject to Frontier Town, where a helicopter transported the subject to the hospital.

» Continue Reading.

Town of North Hudson
Essex County
Wilderness Rescue: On June 22 at 9 a.m., Ray Brook Dispatch requested Forest Ranger assistance in the Dix Range with the search for a 58-year-old from Singapore last heard from on June 19 at approximately 8 p.m. The hiker was communicating with his wife in Singapore while in New York for a week, but when she did not hear from him, she called for help.

Rangers found the subject’s rental car in the Elk Lake parking lot at 9:30 a.m. The subject signed in at the trail register but did not sign out. Rangers Lewis and Martin set up a search plan with the expectation the subject was off-trail. Nine additional Rangers joined the search along with New York State Police Aviation. At 2:50 p.m., Ranger Scott located the subject in a swampy area.

» Continue Reading.

Town of North Elba
Essex County
Wilderness Search: On June 16 at 4:55 p.m., Forest Rangers Curcio, Lewis, and Praczkajlo responded to a report of a hiker with an ankle injury on Algonquin Peak. Rangers reached the 30-year-old subject from Virginia at 6:55 p.m. and splinted her injury.

Rangers then helped the subject down the mountain. The hiker reached her vehicle at 8:45 p.m.

Town of North Elba
Essex County
Wilderness Search: On June 16 at 7:50 p.m., Ray Brook Dispatch requested Forest Ranger assistance in the response to a 22-year-old from Pennsylvania who had suffered a head injury in Avalanche Pass.

By 9 p.m., Ranger Curcio made contact with the individual and her hiking group not far from Marcy Dam. Ranger Curcio assisted the group back to the trailhead and suggested the subject seek further medical attention. Resources were clear at 10:05 p.m.

» Continue Reading.

New York State Department of Environmental Conservation (DEC) Forest Rangers respond to search and rescue incidents statewide. Working with other state agencies, local emergency response organizations, and volunteer search and rescue groups, Forest Rangers locate and extract lost, injured, or distressed people from across New York State.

Town of Wilmington
Essex County
End of Watch: On June 9, hundreds of people paid their respects at a memorial for Forest Ranger Captain Christopher Kostoss. Captain Kostoss died by suicide on May 31. He served as a Ranger for 23 years and was involved in countless search and rescue missions.

» Continue Reading.

Towns of Fine and Newcomb
Essex County
Assistant Forest Ranger Training/Ranger Recruits Swearing-In: From May 20-24, Assistant Forest Rangers (AFRs) attended training at the State University of New York College of Environmental Science and Forestry (SUNY-ESF) Newcomb campus. They received training in Leave No Trace^TM principles, state land use rules and regulations, wildfire suppression, and trail maintenance.

They were also certified in Wildland Advanced First Aid. AFRs are assigned to work in the Adirondacks, Catskills, and high use areas in Western New York.

» Continue Reading.

Town of Forestport
Oneida County
Brush Fire: On May 1 at 5:45 p.m., Forest Ranger Lieutenant Hoag and Ranger McCartney responded to a brush fire near Round Lake Road in the town of Forestport. The fire burned an estimated nine acres of private land. By 8:20 p.m., the fire was put into patrol status and declared out on May 4.

New York’s annual statewide brush burning ban is in effect through May 14. Since 2009, DEC has enforced the ban to prevent wildfires and protect communities during heightened conditions for wildfires each spring. Backyard fire pits and campfires less than three feet in height and four feet in length, width, or diameter are allowed.

Small cooking fires are allowed, but only charcoal or dry, clean, untreated, or unpainted wood can be burned. People should never leave these or any fires unattended and must extinguish them. Burning garbage or leaves is prohibited year-round. For more information about fire safety and prevention, go to DEC’s FIREWISE New York webpage.

Brush fire in Forestport. DEC photo.

» Continue Reading.

Recent NYS Forest Ranger actions:

North Elba
Essex County
Wilderness Rescue: On April 30 at 10 p.m., Essex County 911 requested Forest Ranger assistance for a hiker suffering from an unstable knee injury on Algonquin Peak. Ranger Evans made contact with the 25-year-old from Vermont and instructed her partner to make a brace so the pair could continue moving downhill.

When Rangers Evans and Lewis reached the hiker at 1:30 a.m., they re-splinted the knee and helped the hikers out of the woods. At 6 a.m., the subject went to Glens Falls Hospital for further treatment.

» Continue Reading.