Veterans Watchfire Causes Confusion

By Idy Perl

Miscommunication caused a large emergency response to a fire in Clausland Mountain Park in Orangeburg today.

Unlike most fires though, this fire was lit last night on purpose and was supposed to remain burning all day. Yes, Lag Baomer passed already, but this fire was lit for a different reason.  

During the Revolutionary War, Watchfires were lit in Hudson Valley along the Hudson River by colonists to warn soldiers when the British were approaching. In 1987, Rockland County Vietnam Veterans decided to light commemorative fires every year on Memorial Day. 

Each year, four Watchfire sites, located at Bowline Point Park in Haverstraw, Eugene Levy Park, Piermont Pier, and Clausland Mountain Park in Orangeburg, are lit on honor of Memorial Day and observed for the entire 24 hours. 

Today, a call to the fire department about a large brush fire in Clausland Mountain Park caused a big response team to come down to the scene of the fire. After realizing that the fire was there on purpose, the firefighters just sprayed around the site and left the fire burning.