Excerpt from a 'Daily Freeman' article: Two days after a 30-acre brush fire in Minnewaska state park was reported under control, the flames have spread to scorch 3,000 acres. The 20,000-acre park and part of U.S. Route 44/state Route 55 have remained closed, and over 245 personnel from various state and local agencies were on the scene Saturday, trying to beat back the blaze. http://www.zwire.com/site/news.cfm?newsid=19500830&BRD=1769&PAG=461&dept_id=74969&rfi=6
I was driving on Stonykill Road in Accord on Friday, having watched the smoke cloud since the day before from a distance. The site was staggering if not surreal. I could see the flames above the trees. I thought, "This can't happen here! We're in Ulster County!! THIS ISN'T CALIFORNIA!!! We don't have any mud slides, there are no earth quakes and there definitely aren't any brush fires around here! I still had snow in my back yard two weeks ago, for God's sake!! As I continued my drive along the road I saw people standing in their yard talking to their neighbors and to each other. There was no urgency, no concern at all. As if it was the most normal thing around. "Oh, yeah, it's just our annual brush fire. No problem." When I came to the intersection of 44/55 I wanted to scream at the cop: "Where are the helicopters and the airplaines??? And where the hell is the NATIONAL GUARD!!!" Maybe this was a bit overly dramatic on my part. I admit it. I just don't trust people who say: "Everything is under control!" It just doesn't sound right sometimes. But I do remember feeling strange that part of my beloved Minnewaska State park fell prey to the flames. Anyway, the Freeman article has much more information than I would be able to come up with. Next time you're up here, drive on 44/55 from New Paltz towards Kerhonkson and you'll probably see some blackened soil along side the road. You will realize though that this did not take away any of the magnificent beauty of this region whatsoever... 
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