Yorktown Heights Volunteer Fire Department Fights Brush Fire

YORKTOWN, NY — The Yorktown Heights Volunteer Fire Department battled a brush fire Thursday near the Taconic State Parkway.

According to the department's Facebook page, shortly after 4 p.m., fire personnel were sent to the southbound parkway in the area of mile marker 12.4 for a reported brush fire.

On arrival, firefighters found the fire was burning along the left shoulder and was rapidly extending up and over the rock face into the wooded area adjacent to the parkway.

The volunteers began knocking down the bulk of the fire while a second crew of firefighters climbed the rock face with hand tools to establish a fire line.

Fire officials said the quick action of the Yorktown Heights volunteers kept the fire to a 200-foot by 150-foot area.

Yorktown Heights fire officials said area residents needed to be aware that the state's burn ban is in effect until May 14.

Warmer temperatures combined with low humidity, wind gusts and an abundance of dead leaves and other vegetation can create near-perfect conditions for a brush fire. Even a small fire can rapidly develop into a serious wildfire, officials said.

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