MONTICELLO – The dry and windy weather has resulted in a large number of brush fires in the region in the last several days.
Most are as a result of manmade causes, which can be fanned by natural causes, said Sullivan County Emergency Services Commissioner Richard Martinkovic.
“We have folks that will come up for the weekend,” Martinkovic said. “They will be cleaning up the property. They have a burn barrel. They are not aware of the law or they are ignoring the law and they will get the burn barrel going; they will go in to have something to eat and they will come out and the next thing they know, the fire has jumped out of the barrel, got into the grass and into the brush and jut takes off, especially if we have a windy day.”
The state has an open burn ban in effect from March 15 through May 15, something Martinkovic hopes will keep brush fires to a minimum.
