Town of Shawangunk police officers were lauded by town officials at the Sept. 1 Town Board meeting for bringing supplies to firefighters from the Napanoch Fire District who were fighting the blaze at the Minnewaska State Park Preserve. The blaze started on Aug. 27 as a result of a suspected lightning strike and spread to approximately 142 acres within the park.

Police Chief Gerald Marlatt reported that the town police delivered 800 bottles of water, 125 energy bars and 20 bags of ice to the firemen.

Marlatt said the Wallkill Volunteer Ambulance Corps and Walker Valley resident Joyce Chess also made donations.

Town of Shawangunk Police Officer Nicole Brooks received approval from the Town of Shawangunk Police Benevolent Association (PBA) to buy supplies. Town Board member Brian Amthor, who is the liaison to the police department, also donated money to the cause.

“Even though the fire is not in our town, they wanted to help,” Marlatt said of the donations from the police union and others.

Marlatt said he and Brooks loaded the goods in the Chief’s patrol truck and delivered them to the firemen at the Napanoch Fire District.

“We were greeted by the firefighters, and they were so grateful and appreciative,” Marlatt said. “One of the firefighters said, ‘I can’t believe you guys came all the way here and brought all this stuff for us and it’s not even your town.’”

Marlatt said he told the firemen they were happy to help.

“We all support one another, and I told them that I’m sure they would have been there to assist the Town of Shawangunk in our time of need,” Marlatt said. “That’s what neighbors do.”

Town Supervisor John Valk was among the Town Board members praising the town’s police department for bringing supplies to emergency personnel fighting the blaze that burned about 142 acres, according to an estimate by Department of Environmental Conservation spokesperson Lori Severino.

“Our police and the PBA are getting more community-minded,” Valk said. “They’re doing good things for the community and it’s nice to see. They deserve a big thank you for everything they do. And for Chief Marlatt and Officer Brooks to do that on their own time is fabulous, too.”

Amthor said he never thought twice about donating money for the supplies when asked.
“Anytime I can lend a hand or assist in any way, I’m happy to do so,” he said. “My heart goes out there to those men and women who are out in the heat doing everything they’re doing (to fight the blaze). Anything I can do for the PBA and those firemen up there on the mountain is something I didn’t even have to think twice about.”

The wildland fire at Minnewaska State Park has been contained, Gov. Kathy Hochul’s office announced Sunday evening.

“Over the past week, firefighting crews and staff from state, local agencies and the Province of Quebec were deployed to battle the Minnewaska State Park Preserve wildfire and today they were successful in fully containing the fire,” Hochul said in a statement. “We took swift action, launched a coordinated response and devoted every resource possible to help the first responders complete their mission. I thank all of them for their hard work, spending time away from their families and working tirelessly everyday to keep New Yorkers safe.”

Minnewaska State Park Preserve will reopen on Wednesday. Some areas of the preserve will remain closed indefinitely while work takes place to remediate impacts to parkland from the firebreaks

New police car
In other news, Marlatt said he is still waiting for delivery of a new police car which he had anticipated the department would have by now.

“We probably won’t get it until 2023 at this point,” Marlatt said. “I don’t know what the reason for the backlog is, but it’s definitely posing a problem.”

The board voted 5-0 to reappoint David Haldeman as the town’s representative on the Ulster County Environmental Management Council.

Marlatt also commended Valk for declaring a state of emergency in the town and banning burning due to the continued drought. Marlatt said police responded to a report of a bonfire at a town residence last week after the burn ban went into effect.

“Lo and behold, it was an airbnb and people just didn’t know,” Marlatt said. “They had eight-foot flames in the backyard with a big bonfire. We had to have them extinguish it.”

The board took no action on Local Law No. 5 for Miscellaneous Zoning Text Amendments since the town just received comments back from the Ulster County Planning Board, according to Valk. He said the board could vote to adopt the local law at its next meeting on Sept. 15.