The Department of Environmental Control would like to remind New Yorkers that beginning this week and lasting through mid-May, there will be a statewide ban on burning brush. All residential brush burning is prohibited during what is New York’s historically high-fire-risk period which lasts from March 16th through May 14th. According to the DEC, open burning is the largest cause of wildfires throughout the state. New York originally added restrictions to burning back in 2009 in an attempt to reduce harmful air pollutants and prevent fires. The same restriction prohibits the burning of garbage year-round. According to the DEC, fire department data from 2010 through 2012 shows a 35 percent reduction in the amount of wildfires during the burn ban period, compared to the 10 years prior.
