The Worst Forest Fires New York Has Seen Throughout History

Year after year, we read, see, and hear about forest fires that occur in the western portion of the country but rarely do we deal with anything similar in our section on the U.S.A.—but this year changed that scenario.

Several New England states are under a red flag warning. Portions of New York State are under a drought warning, with the rest of the state under a drought watch according to the New York State Department of Environmental Conservation.

Forest fires have plagued areas of downstate New York, including the Jennings Creek/Sterling State Park Fire that encompassed 5,000 Acres in New York and New Jersey. According to the New York State Governor's Office, this wildfire is the largest to affect the Empire State since 2008.

Governor Hochul implemented a Statewide burn ban this month that continues through November 30th. These forest fires remind us of another time in New York State when there were other serious forest fires.

The Adirondack Experience website takes note of a couple of major fires in 1903 and 1908. In the spring of 1903, the Adirondack region experienced a 72-day drought, which spawned several forest fires over 600,000 acres of land in the Adirondack Park. The Adirondack Experience noted that Lake Placid was at the center of the 1903 wildfires.

1908 experienced the worst forest fires in New York State. Among the various wildfires that raged on and off for four months according to the Adirondack Experience, the worst fire of the year destroyed the town of of Long Lake West in September of 1908. The town has since been renamed Sabattis. The fire was attributed to a passing locomotive when it shot off a spark that landed in a trackside tinder.

Read more from the article in the Adirondack Experience about the history of the 2003 and 2008 forest fire seasons, and how these fires nudged the state to adopt new laws to help prevent and detect forest fires.