A fire that burned nearly 5 acres of woods along the Mohonk Preserve ridge line last week appears to have been started by a lightning strike, according to the New Paltz fire chief and New York State Department of Environmental Conservation.
“We’re pretty sure that that’s what it was,” Fire Chief Cory Wirthmann said Tuesday, calling lightning the “most plausible” cause of the blaze. He also said the fire was declared 100% extinguished Monday night.
The DEC, in a Tuesday email about recent efforts by forest rangers statewide, said the New Paltz fire "was caused by a lightning strike." Wirthmann said lightning most likely struck sometime on Monday, Aug. 24, and “smoldered for days and days and days."
"That’s when you get the smoke and heat that starts a fire,” he said. The fire chief said it was “great news” that the fire was started by a natural cause and not the carelessness of a hiker or camper.