Folks on Saturday first saw the smoke flume rising over the mountains south east of the hamlet.

By Sunday morning the smoke was gone – but that didn’t mean the fire was out. From Sunday, through Monday, the fire continued. Under the watchful eye of fire fighters from the DEC, the blaze burned through 100 acres near Bear Mountain. As of this writing Monday night, The DEC says the fire is under control. How did this happen? An unattended camp fire.

This report comes from News 10 ABC.

“The Department of Environmental Conservation says about 14 forest rangers are fighting the fire Monday at Bear Mountain in the Essex County town of Schroon, 80 miles north of Albany.

DEC officials say county 911 dispatchers received word of a fire around 1:20 p.m. Saturday in the area of Crane Pond in the Pharaoh Lake Wilderness.

Sunday afternoon’s dropping humidity and winds gusting to 20 mph caused the fire to spread over 80 acres.

A state police helicopter and local firefighters have been helping contain the blaze. No injuries or damage to structures have been reported".