April showers bring May flowers; dry Mays bring brush fires, including in Forestport

A brush fire that charred eight acres in Forestport last week was likely a sign of the region’s strangely rain-less May. 

It was the 10th dryest May on record in the Syracuse area, the dryest ever in the Binghamton area and the third dryest ever in the Scranton area, according to National Weather Service data. The service does not have records for Oneida County, but it shoud be pretty close to Onondaga Cunty, said meteorologist Jake Chalupsky, of the NWS’s Binghamton office.  

The Syracuse area got less than 1.28 inches of rain in May, compared to an average of 3.42 inches, he said.  

A U.S. Drought Monitor issued on May 30 shows much of the Southern Tier, including Broome County, as being abnormally dry, but nothing farther north in Central New York. But the U.S. Monthly Drought Outlook shows drought conditions are likely to develop in Oneida County in June. 

There is rain, but not a lot of rain in the forecast although he has some hopes for significant rain over the weekend, Chalupsky said.  

More:Forestport brush fire chars more than eight acres: What happened

More:Mid-May frost threatens New York's apple crop: Some farms spared, others devastated

“So they’re thinking,” he said, “by the end of June, Oneida County will be in at least abnormally dry conditions.”  

New York burn ban ended May 14

Since 2009, New York has banned open burning between March 16 and May 14 because of the danger of fires spreading to dry vegetation. The ban lifts in mid-May because that’s when things green up, Chalupsky said; grass turns green again and trees get their leaves, making it harder for fire to spread. 

“This year we just happen to be super dry right at the time, leading up to it and right after,” Chalupsky said, pointing out there have been several wildfires in the state caused by humans burning things. 

“We kind of advise everyone to not burn anything, (now)” he said. “Even with light winds, it doesn’t take much.”  

Central New York would have been even dryer now, but warm temperatures brought a rainy, instead of snowy, winter and April, until the end of the month, was wet, he said. The Syracuse area is only 0.67 inches below its average rainfall for this time of year, Chalupsky said.  

Wildfires in New York: What the numbers say

Open burning is the biggest cause of wildfires in New York, according to the New York State Department of Environmental Conservation. Since the spring burn ban began, though, the number of wildfires has fallen by more than 40%, according to DEC.  

From 1993 to 2017, 5,423 wildfires have burnt on 52,580 acres in New York, an average of 217 wildfires on 2,103 acres annually, according to DEC. The largest number of fires start in the spring, with 1,938 in April from 1993 to 2017, 90 in May and 543 in March. 

And most of them are caused by humans, with 1,809 started by debris burning, 888 considered incendiary fires (meaning people set them intentionally, knowing that they shouldn’t under the circumstances) and 860 caused by campfires. Lightning strikes, by contrast, only started 294 of the fires. 

Most open burning is prohibited in New York, but the state makes exceptions for small camp or cooking fires, ceremonial or celebratory bonfires, and the burning of tree limbs with attached leaves (with size limits) in towns with a population of less than 20,000 people, or of organic agricultural waste on site.  

Only charcoal or dry, clean, untreated and unpainted wood may be burned in campfires and bonfires, according to the DEC.