Bill Williams is reporting for Columbia-Greene Media seven fire companies fought nine brush fires that burned simultaneously April 7, in Stuyvesant and Stockport, according to Stuyvesant Fire Chief Steven Montie. The fires began along the railroad tracks off of Route 9J at about 11:25 a.m. when a box train with bad brakes started to spark and set the brush on fire, Montie said. He said the nine fires were spread over seven miles and took more than two hours to extinguish. The state police assisted on the ground with traffic control and provided a helicopter to pinpoint the fire locations. All Amtrak trains were stopped while firefighters worked, and Route 9J was closed between County Route 26A and Sharptown Road. Responding fire companies included Stuyvesant, Stuyvesant Falls, Stockport, Stottville, Kinderhook, Niverville, and Valatie. Read the full story at HudsonValley360 [dot] com.