Statewide brush-burning ban to begin

ALBANY, N.Y. (AP) - The state Department of Environmental Conservation says all outdoor residential brush burning is prohibited during the high-risk wildfire season March 16 through May 14.

In 2009, New York toughened restrictions on open burning to reduce harmful air pollutants and help prevent wildfires. The regulation allows residential brush burning for most of the year in towns with less than 20,000 residents. But it prohibits open burning in all communities during early spring when the bulk of New York's wildfires typically occur.

The new regulation prohibits the burning of garbage at all times and places.