SUMMITVILLE, N.Y. (AP) - Fire companies are returning to fight a fire that continues to burn on a ridge in Shawangunk Ridge State Forest in the Hudson Valley.
A volunteer at Summitville Fire Company estimates the five-alarm blaze to be a mile long. It began as a stubborn brush fire near Summitville around noon Sunday.
State environmental officials say about 30 acres of forest in the mountains above Summitville had been destroyed by Sunday night despite help from a state police helicopter that dropped water over the burning area.
Officials suspect the blaze was started by a homeowner burning rubbish outdoors in violation of a statewide burn ban.
More than a dozen fire companies in Sullivan, Orange and Ulster counties also have provided aid.
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