Outdoor fires, including for the purpose of brush and debris disposal, are prohibited
Due to high winds and dry conditions, New York State has set an early outdoor burn ban for Westchester County.
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.
In recent days, large brush fires and wildfires have scorched hundreds of acres of land in Suffolk County and threatened adjacent homes. Earlier today, the Suffolk County Police Department disclosed that embers that blew away from a backyard fire, which was set for the purpose of making s’mores, were responsible for some of the resulting fires.
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. Make sure to have water or a fire extinguisher on hand in the event a fire starts growing out of control,” he said.
A residential burn ban was set to go into effect in New York State on March 16 but was moved up by the state as a precaution.
