Brush fires are popping up across the Capital Region despite the burn ban the state issues every spring.

“I mean, it was uncontrollable,” Antone Mello, of Galway, said. “It was literally coming up out of the shed. It was definitely too close to home for me.”

Mello said he initially didn’t think anything of it when a neighbor was burning some yard waste.

“We all kind of burn leaves and stuff out here,” he said. “We’re all kind of guilty of it.”

But before long, he said the wind swept the small blaze out of control.

“We came out after working in the shed, and his whole shed – these two sheds – were on fire, and the fire was moving through the woods,” Mello described. “So we grabbed some garden hose, me and my daughter, and tried to put it out, and my girlfriend called 911.”

Three different fire companies fought the blaze, but rangers at the New York Department of Environmental Conservation warn that things could get a lot worse with dry brush sitting around in the sun.

“Spring conditions are some of the most active for fires because of the hot, dry weather conditions as well as anybody who’s out in their yard trying to do preparation after coming out of the long winter,” NYS DEC Captain Forest Ranger Darryl Kittle said. “Any ignition source under those conditions could cause a wildfire pretty quickly.”

A burn ban is currently in effect. Rangers suggest bagging before burning.

“We would always recommend people bag their yard waste and take it to a compost facility,” Kittle said. “Most communities have them and will do it free of charge. It’s just safer to do that than to burn.”

The burn ban is in effect until May 14. Open burning is banned in the Adirondack and Catskill Mountain regions all year round.

Violators could face fines.