Albany County, NY Fire Regulations: Wildfire Zones (2026)

New York State does not operate a California-style wildfire hazard zone mapping system, and Albany County has not adopted local WUI (wildland-urban interface) defensible space rules. Instead, fire risk is regulated through NYSDEC statewide rules: 6 NYCRR §215 prohibits open burning of brush, leaves, and residential debris between March 16 and May 14 each year, the peak fire-risk period for the Northeast. Outside this window, burning of untreated wood in towns under 20,000 population is allowed, but campfires must be under 3 feet high and 4 feet wide per 6 NYCRR §215.3. Albany County contains two notable fire-prone ecosystems: the Albany Pine Bush Preserve (a globally rare inland pitch pine-scrub oak barrens) where the Albany Pine Bush Preserve Commission conducts prescribed burns under ECL Article 46, and the Helderberg Escarpment in the Hilltowns (Berne, Knox, Rensselaerville) with mixed hardwood forests. The DEC Region 4 office monitors fire-danger ratings daily during fire season and can issue emergency burn bans under ECL §9-1105 when conditions warrant. Albany County Local Law requires compliance with NYS Uniform Fire Prevention and Building Code (19 NYCRR Part 1225), which references IBC/IFC provisions for ignition-resistant construction in designated WUI areas (none currently mapped in Albany County). Homeowners in wooded Hilltowns areas are encouraged by DEC's Firewise program to maintain 30-foot defensible space, though this is voluntary. Property insurance underwriters (not local code) increasingly evaluate brush clearance and roof material for rural Hilltowns properties.