Westchester County Under Early Burn Ban As Fire Risk Increases

WESTCHESTER COUNTY, NY — Because of the high winds and dry conditions across the region, New York State has ordered a planned outdoor burn ban for Westchester County to go into effect right away.

The burn ban prohibits outdoor fires for the purpose of brush or debris disposal, and it also prohibits uncontained fires and open fires used for cooking. Backyard fire pits and contained campfires less than three feet in height and four feet in length, width or diameter are allowed as are small, contained cooking fires.

Large brush fires and wildfires have scorched hundreds of acres of land in Suffolk County and threatened adjacent homes. Smoke from those fires could be seen as far away as Westchester County. The Suffolk County Police Department reported that embers that blew away from a backyard fire, set for the purpose of making s'mores, caused a substantial brush fire.

County Executive Ken Jenkins said people need to be vigilant due to the windy and dry conditions in Westchester.

"As the Suffolk County wildfires show, even a small backyard fire can have enormous consequences. In any situation where a small campfire or cooking fire is created, we ask residents and visitors to keep those fires under constant watch," Jenkins said. "Make sure to have water or a fire extinguisher on hand in the event a fire starts growing out of control."

A residential burn ban was already set to go into effect in New York State on March 16, but was moved up by the state as a precaution.