Town of Keene
Essex County
Wilderness Rescue: On Sept. 20 at 2:35 p.m., Ray Brook Dispatch alerted Forest Rangers to a hiker with an unstable leg injury on Mount Marcy. The 53-year-old from New Jersey was approximately half a mile from the summit, just below the tree line. New York State Police (NYSP) Aviation was called to assist. With Ranger Baldwin as the crew chief, NYSP Pilot Beck flew Ranger Corey to the scene. Ranger Baldwin lowered Ranger Corey to the patient.

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Town of Bangor
Franklin County
Law Enforcement: On Sept. 6 at 5:45 p.m., Forest Ranger Russell observed a vehicle swerving over the center divider of State Route 11B. Ranger Russell pulled over the driver. When the driver opened the glove compartment, Ranger Russell saw evidence that there may have been a handgun in the vehicle. The driver admitted to having a 9mm handgun in his luggage. Ranger Russell called Ray Brook Dispatch to request New York State Police (NYSP) assistance.

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Town of Santa Clara
Franklin County
Wilderness Search: On Aug. 27 at 9:50 p.m., Fish Creek Campground caretakers called Ray Brook Dispatch to report two overdue campers who were not equipped with headlamps, food, or water. Forest Rangers Curcio and O’Connor searched the Otter Hollow trail from Square Pond. A campground employee flagged down the Rangers to report they heard voices on the other side of Whey Pond.

Ranger O’Connor located a 32-year-old and 13-year-old from Kingston. The 13-year-old was in a tree along the northern shore of Rollins Pond. Rangers walked the pair back to the campground, arriving at 1:15 a.m.

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Town of Arietta
Hamilton County
Fugitive Search: For the last five months, Forest Ranger Lieutenant Kerr and Rangers Hamm, Nally, and Thompson assisted the U.S. Marshals Service in the search for a wanted fugitive from Gloversville. The 35-year-old had been living in the woods on state land with minimal outside contact. On August 22 while on patrol, Rangers Hamm and Thompson spotted the subject camping near Chubb Lake.

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Town of North Hudson
Essex County
Wilderness Search: On Aug 16 at 8:50 a.m., nine Forest Rangers responded to a call for three missing hikers on the Dix Range who were supposed to meet the rest of their hiking party the night before at the Slide Brook lean-to. The teenagers from Troy, West Sand Lake, and Wynantskill were well-trained hikers with headlamps, food, water, a map, and a compass.

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Town of Keene
Essex County
Wilderness Rescue: On July 4 at 2:35 p.m., the Johns Brook Lodge caretaker contacted Ray Brook dispatch about a sick hiker on Yard Mountain. As Forest Rangers responded, the caretaker reached the hiker and reported the subject was experiencing persistent vomiting, weakness, and could not hold down water. Due to the subject’s significant heat stroke and location, Rangers requested New York State Police (NYSP) Aviation. Rangers on the ground packaged the subject and at 5:50 p.m., NYSP Pilot Kotronis and Ranger Lewis successfully hoisted the hiker to be flown to the hospital. Rangers on the ground walked the subject’s hiking partner nearly two miles back to his vehicle. Resources were clear at 9 p.m. Rangers checked on the subject the following day and he made a complete recovery.

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Hamlet of Lake Clear
Hamilton County
Training: On June 21, four pilots from New York State Police (NYSP) Aviation and six Forest Rangers participated in bucket training. Rangers work in tandem with NYSP pilots to fill the 240-gallon bucket before determining the proper altitude to dump the water on mock wildfires during the training.

Video from the bucket training is available on the DEC website:

• Video: Lake Clear Bucket Training 1
• Video: Lake Clear Bucket Training 2

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Town of Willsboro
Essex County
Wilderness Rescue: On June 14 at 11:50 a.m., Ray Brook Dispatch requested Forest Ranger assistance for a hiker with a possible ankle fracture near the summit of Rattlesnake Mountain. Rangers reached the 43-year-old from Chazy in under an hour. Ranger Bronson requested additional support and a UTV to transport the subject to the trailhead. The hiker brought herself to the hospital for further care and resources were clear at 1:44 p.m.

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Town of Hadley
Saratoga County
Wildland Fire: On June 1 at 4:14, p.m., Forest Ranger Nahor discovered a wildfire on North Shore Road in Hadley. By 10:30 p.m., four Rangers had the fire 50 percent contained. The following night at 8:10 p.m., Rangers declared the 3.5-acre fire fully contained. Due to the dry weather, the fire continues to burn, producing significant smoke and three Rangers continue putting out hot spots.

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Town of Newcomb
Essex County
Training: On May 21 through 26, a total of 26 Assistant Forest Rangers (AFRs) took part in training to learn about Leave No Trace^TM principles, wilderness first aid, map and compass skills, and wildfire prevention. As part of this trail maintenance workshop, a group of Forest Rangers and AFRs helped SUNY ESF Outreach Program Manager O’Connell with the rehabilitation of the Goodnow Mountain fire tower trail. Thanks to their regrading and stepping stone work, there is now better access to the trail.

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Town of Black Brook
Clinton County
Wildland Fire: On May 15 at 6:45 p.m., Ray Brook Dispatch requested Forest Ranger assistance with a wildland fire in Black Brook near the intersection of Turnpike and Goodrich Mills roads. Ausable Forks and Saranac Lake fire departments also responded to the 30-acre fire. Rangers and other firefighters sustained fire suppression efforts for several days. On May 17 at 6:45 p.m., the fire was declared 100 percent contained. The fire remains in patrol status.

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Town of Wilmington
Essex County
Wilderness Rescue: On May 13 at 8:55 a.m., a hiker called Essex County 911 about an angler with a possible broken leg off the Flume Trail System. Forest Rangers DiCintio, O’Connor, and Praczkajlo responded along with Wilmington Fire and Wilmington EMS. The 39-year-old from Canada said he had dragged himself from the water to the riverbank and waited for two hours hoping someone would find him.

The angler indicated his foot became trapped in the rapids and he had injured himself trying to get out from under a rock. When Rangers and Wilmington Fire reached the subject, they packaged him into a litter and carried him to the ambulance. Resources were clear at 9:30 a.m.

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Town of Lake George
Warren County
Wilderness Rescue: On May 2 at 6:50 p.m., Forest Rangers Carabetta and Donegan responded to a call for an injured hiker on the trail to Prospect Mountain. Rangers reached the pair of hikers by 7:30 p.m. and stabilized the ankle of the injured 23-year-old from Latham. Rangers assisted the hikers back to the trailhead and then to their vehicle. The injured subject chose to seek further medical attention on her own. Resources were clear at 8:10 p.m.

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Town of Lake Luzerne
Warren County
Public Outreach: On April 25, Forest Ranger Lieutenant LaPierre and Ranger Temple spoke at the 2023 Wilderness Medicine Conference at the Double H Ranch in Lake Luzerne. Rangers provided doctors and other medical professionals with a real-world perspective on the complex nature of medicine in a wilderness environment.

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Village of Oriskany
Oneida County
Training: On April 18 and 19, Forest Rangers Kennedy, Martin, and Virkler attended a two-day Unmanned Aerial Systems (UAS) training in Oriskany. The training was held in conjunction with the Flood Incident Strike Team “FIST,” a multi-agency team equipped and trained to respond to a variety of swift water and flood events.

UAS pilots refreshed swift water skills and terminology before being embedded with FIST teams for a full-day exercise on the Moose and Black rivers. UAS pilots provided FIST teams with assistance locating subjects, scouting river conditions, and monitoring deployed resources. UAS pilots from New York State Police, New York State Fire, New York State Park Police, and DEC’s Division of Law Enforcement all participated.

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