Several wildfires broke out on Long Island Saturday, due to high-risk fire conditions with low humidity that forced part of a Suffolk County highway to close and reported more than two dozen agencies’ responses.
Bill Dalton, former head of Westhampton Beach Fire Department, is helping to coordinate the department’s response, saying more than 25 agencies have been involved in efforts to contain what he described as the “Twelve” fire as of Saturday afternoon.
“We have a lot of assets on the ground and there’s a lot of communication about hot spots,” he said. “They surfaced throughout the process.”
Several departments have deployed brush trucks, smaller fire trucks designed to fight wildfires, he said. Helicopters and drones have been mobilized to enjoy aerial views of the fire, now extending a seven-mile radius around Westhampton and Eastport on the south coast.
“We can control it,” Dalton said. “Four hours, maybe five more hours. A lot of cleaning.”
Images on social media show rolling black smoke. Westhampton Fire Department says no injuries are currently in place and no evacuation orders are available
New York State Police confirmed that all lanes on the Sunrise Expressway are closed at Exit 62 and Exit 65.
Gov. Kathy Hochul said the fire was in the pine barrels, a 105,000-acre nature park. A spokesman Avi Small said the governor declared a state of emergency Saturday afternoon.
“We are in close communication with local partners in Long Island to coordinate assistance and ensure they have the resources they need to protect their communities,” Ms. Hochul said on social media.
The National Weather Service earlier warned on social media that low humidity, northwest winds of 30 to 35 miles an hour would cause “an increase in the risk of fire spread.”
On Saturday, the forecast was realized.
“We have gusts of Arctic winds, and they make it difficult for them to easily contain any fires,” Jay Engle, a meteorologist with the Meteorological Service, said of the situation on Saturday at Long Island.
The wind is expected to calm down overnight and humidity levels will increase, allowing firefighters to rest. But the wind is expected to return on Sunday.
“There will be another fire risk tomorrow,” Mr. Engel said.
“Please be extra careful in all potential sources of ignition (mechanical, cigarettes, competitions),” the Weather Bureau said. “Any fire can spread rapidly.”
About 20 miles to the west, near Sheephead Bay in Brooklyn, a brush fire broke out at around 1 p.m. Saturday.
Crews and marine forces of the New York City Fire Department, as well as local volunteer firefighters and New York City Police Department helicopters responded. The fire department said crew members were clearing the fire around 4 p.m. The fire marshal is investigating the cause.
Amy Graff and Simon J. Levien Contribution report.
