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UPDATE:
Long Island volunteers worked through the night in Westhampton to contain the last of four wildfires that sparked Saturday afternoon on eastern Long Island, prompting an emergency response from across the region.
Suffolk County Executive Ed Romaine is expected to update the public at 11:30 a.m. Sunday from Gabreski Airport in Westhampton Beach.
“As of this morning, emergency crews have resumed operations to address the wildfires,” according to a statement issued by Southampton Town. “We are happy to report that other than some small hotspots, there is no significant visible fire. There are hotspots and smoldering areas being addressed, and emergency management is utilizing drones and air assets to identify these areas to direct response.”
All roads are currently open.
Arson investigators have also been dispatched to investigate the fires, a county spokesperson has confirmed.
According to the National Weather Service, Sunday will continue to be sunny and breezy, with a high near 45 mph.
The strong winds that helped spread the wildfires will slow down, though, with a southwest wind of 13 to 18 mph, with gusts as high as 33 mph.
The region remains under a State of Emergency declaration, according to Gov. Kathy Hochul.
Dry weather and high winds — together with damage to woodland areas caused by the Southern pine beetle — created the perfect storm for fast-moving wildfires to ignite and spread across the Pine Barrens along the south side of Sunrise Highway.
The blazes stretched from Moriches to Westhampton Beach.
— Michael White
UPDATE
Gov. Kathy Hochul has declared a state of emergency with the wildfires in the Pine Barrens.
“I am issuing a State of Emergency as Suffolk County fights brush fires in the Pine Barrens. I have spoken to @ExecEdRomaine and offered any necessary State resources,” she said in a post on X.
State National Guard helicopters are providing air support, and multiple state agencies are on the ground providing assistance, the governor said.
UPDATE:
One firefighter was airlifted to Stony Brook hospital with second-degree burns from battling the eastern Long Island wildfires on Saturday, authorities said.
But he “is doing OK.”
As of Saturday evening, firefighters from across Long Island were concentrating in areas around and north of Gabreski Airport in Westhampton Beach. The fires were “50 percent contained,” officials said.
But, they stressed, they are not under control.
“There are no residences at this time that are in the line of fire, but we are monitoring that very closely from the air. You will be notified by telephone, by knocks on your door, if that changes,” Southampton Town Police Chief James Kiernan told press assembled Saturday evening in Westhampton Beach.
“We’re in great hands right now; we have all our partners together working this.”
Suffolk County Executive Ed Romaine said the fires might not be under control for several hours, if not tomorrow.
Two commercial structures were also damaged by the fires, which broke out around Center Moriches and East Moriches around 1 p.m., prompting closures along Sunrise Highway. Authorities did not provide details about those structures.
It was not immediately clear on which fire department the injured firefighter hailed from.
The fire has drawn help from departments across Nassau and Suffolk counties, along with the National Guard.
— Michael White
ORIGINAL POST:
Dry weather and high winds — together with damage to woodland areas caused by the Southern pine beetle — have created the perfect storm for fast-moving wildfires to ignite and spread across the Pine Barrens along the south side of Sunrise Highway on Saturday.
The massive cluster of wildfires is a quarter-mile wide, with blazes stretching from the Hamptons to East Moriches.
South Shore fire departments — from Brookhaven to Hampton Bays — are battling to the blazes, as massive billowing clouds of smoke dominate much of Long Island’s skyline on Saturday. The smoke can be seen from as far away as the North Fork, and even Connecticut.
EXCLUSIVE VIDEO: Manorville firefighters enter the thick of one of Saturday’s massive wildfires
Southampton Town Supervisor Maria Moore has declared a state of emergency due to fires that started about 1 p.m., she said.
“Dry weather and high winds, along with damage to woodland areas caused by Southern pine beetle infestation is exacerbating the conditions for dangerous wildfires,” she said in a statement. “Such conditions threaten and/or imperil the public safety of the citizens of the Town of Southampton due to these active wildfires and the continued elevated threat of extreme wildfire possibility for our area.”
National Guard providing support
NewYork Gov. Kathy Hochul said the New York National Guard is providing air support via helicopters and is coordinating with local law enforcement.
“Minutes ago, I spoke with County Executive Ed Romaine about the brush fire in the Pine Barrens and informed him that the State of New York is here to provide any resources and support he needs,” Hochul said, in a statement released about 4 p.m. Hochul has also deployed personnel from the offices of Emergency Management and Fire Prevention and Control, the Department of Transportation, the Department of Environmental Conservation, state parks and state police to assist Suffolk County’s response to the crisis.
“Public safety is my top priority, and I’m committed to doing everything possible to keep Long Islanders safe,” she said.
Police said Sunrise Highway is closed in both directions at the Railroad Avenue overpass in Manorville due to the fires.
The dreaded, disruptive Southern pine beetle
The Southern pine beetle, which is partially to blame for Saturday’s wild fires, has threatened Long Island’s pine forests and suburban landscapes since it’s arrival in the region in 2014.
The beetle burrows into trees and disrupts their ability to transport nutrients, leaving behind dry, dead wood that fuels wildfires. Their infestation has weakened thousands of pine trees across Long Island, creating highly flammable conditions.
Fires as seen from above
Early on in the fires, Brookhaven Town Supervisor Dan Panico said “Thank you to all of the firefighters and first responders fighting this blaze” in a Facebook post, in which he also shared a video of the fires from a helicopter.
Sunrise Highway east of Exit 62 closed down early on during the fires, as well as Speonk Riverhead Road, Southampton Town Police said.
“Please stay clear of the areas,” Detective Sgt. Gina Laferrera said. “Additional road closures may occur due to the ever changing situation.”
Helicopters were filling giant buckets of water in nearby lakes, including Wildwood Lake in Northampton, and dumping it on fires. Greater Long Island photographer and videographer Andrew Theodorakis captured video footage of the helicopters in action. See below:
Facebook user Lisa Marie shared this dramatic photo, taken from the highway:
Stretching for miles
Below is video taken by a motorist in a vehicle headed east on Sunrise Highway.
The photo below was taken by Bill Faulk from his neighborhood in Manorville.
Top photo: Manorville Fire Department
