CAPITAL REGION, N.Y. (NEWS10) – Nearly a week with no rain and with winds expected to gust up to 35 mph, fire dangers throughout the Capital Region are still a concern. NEWS10 has more on the dangerous conditions.

There are three ingredients to make a fire. You need fuel, heat and oxygen. Officials say the current conditions are the perfect recipe to cook up a dangerous fire.

Art Hunsinger, former Clifton Park Fire Chief, says these ingredients are easy to spot.

“All the dry stuff that’s still on the ground, the leaves that were under the snow that are still sitting on the ground now blowing around, the pine needles that are left over that would be dry from last summer that are on the roadway. People are changing out to new mulch now that spring is here. Old mulch is so dry that a good heat on that mulch is just going to travel right down the mulch, and if it’s back to a building, it’s going to burn a building if we’re not careful,” said Hunsinger.

Stephen DiRenzio, Warning Coordination meteorologist with the U.S. National Weather Service in Albany, says the conditions are perfect for out-of-control fires.

“Winds and the dry conditions are the two biggest problems. The winds keep things dry. And we’ve had no rain. And then yes, they can definitely push the fire along,” said DiRenzio.

DEC commissioner, Basil Seggos, says the entire state of New York is under a fire danger risk and released the following statement on Twitter:

“Fire danger is now high in all of New York State due to lack of precipitation. Please exercise extreme caution with campfires, any back yard burns, and discarded cigarette.”

“Driving around I still see people throwing cigarette butts out their car windows and this is probably not the time to do that,” said DiRenzio.

“It’s enough to start something like here on fire. A lit cigarette thrown out of the window in an area like this. If it’s hot enough it’s gonna start this stuff on fire and the wind is gonna take it,” said Hunsinger.