Hudson Valley Air Quality Coalition asks Kingston to adopt explicit burn bans after regional wildfires

Members of the Hudson Valley Air Quality Coalition and Kingston residents urged the Common Council on Tuesday to enact clear, local burn bans after multiple recent wildfires and a widely shared mid-November burn ban from the governor that still allowed certain backyard fires.

Lorraine Farina, coordinator of the Hudson Valley Air Quality Coalition, told the council the region experienced ‘‘very unhealthy’’ particulate levels on Nov. 10 and that local conditions — prolonged drought, high fire risk and abundant dry leaf litter — made even small open flames dangerous. The coalition’s March 7 letter to Mayor Noble and a follow-up on April 15, Farina said, had not received a response.

‘‘Allowing backyard fire pits and contained campfires in the context of high fire risk jeopardizes the health, safety, lives and homes of all who live in and around the city,’’ Farina said. The coalition’s letter, which Farina read into the record, requested that Kingston enact a clear ban on all outdoor burning in elevated fire-risk conditions.

Public commenter Robert Fanshell reiterated the call, noting the area had been unusually dry and urging the council to adopt a local ordinance that would automatically impose stricter prohibitions when Ulster County fire-risk designations are elevated.

Farina and Fanshell cited other Ulster County jurisdictions that had imposed stricter local burn bans and argued Kingston — the county’s most densely populated municipality — should act similarly.

Council response and next steps

Speakers asked for a formal response; the written letter was placed on file with the clerk and read into the record during public comment. No council motion or vote on a burn-ban ordinance took place at Tuesday’s meeting; the request remains a public comment and a matter for future council or staff action.