Yesterday’s fire on Elephant mountain is described firsthand by Huletts fireman, Pat Paterson, who was at the fire site.
Today, I had a chance to talk with Huletts Landing Fire Chief, Jay Vanderplatt, and fireman, Pat Peterson, about yesterday’s fire on Elephant mountain. Pat Peterson brought two NY state forest rangers to the scene of yesterday’s fire and was actually on the ground when the water was dropped.
At about 11:30 a.m. on Thursday, July 25th someone reported seeing whiffs of smoke on Elephant mountain. When the Huletts volunteers got the call, Pat, accompanied by Huletts Landing Fire Chief, Jay Vanderplatt, and a few other Huletts Landing firemen went out on Lake George by boat to get a clearer view. Once the site was established, forest rangers were called and the site was designated on a map.
Sometime in the early afternoon, Pat and one forest ranger headed up the Elephant mountain trail on an ATV with supplies. They could only drive about halfway to the fire site because downed trees blocked the path. Because of this, they had to climb the rest of the way. Another forest ranger followed about 45 minutes behind them.
Pat Peterson did confirm that the fire appeared to have been started by a lightening strike two days earlier and was smoldering in the ground for some time. When they saw the fire for the first time it was long and narrow and was going up the mountain. Pat’s estimate was that it was roughly 100 feet long and about 10 feet wide. The original tree where the lightening hit had a strike mark on it according to Pat. “You could see the hit mark and the lightening must have traveled through the root and ignited some pine needles. It was difficult terrain, because it ran up the mountain,” said Pat. “We had to crawl on our hands and knees, it was so steep.”
Once they saw the fire, the forest ranger contacted NY state officials and a decision was made to bring in the state police helicopter. A perimeter was established by Pat and the two forest rangers and before each water drop they scampered above the fire to get a clearer view of the water hitting the target. “We couldn’t see the helicopter until it was right over us,” said Pat, who would call in a “3, 2, 1.. drop” to the helicopter above him. “The pilot did a heck of a job. Every time we called for water on a certain spot, she put it right on the mark.”
Pat continued, “Seeing that water come through the trees was such a sight. But it’s dangerous also, the water has a lot of weight and can knock off heavy limbs that can really hurt you. Every time the chopper came in, we had to climb above the site and after it left we had to climb down and see what was left of the fire.”
After a number of water drops the fire came under control. Pat was emphatic about yesterday’s events. “It was really touch and go at the beginning. If that fire had ignited some trees, the entire mountain could have gone up.”
Many thanks to Pat Paterson, the entire Huletts Landing Volunteer fire department, the NY state forest rangers, the state police and all those who responded yesterday.