‘Catastrophic’: Emergency warning over Long Island fire
A state of emergency has been declared in New York after four fires erupted, sending residents into a panic and threatening wealthy areas.
Four fires have erupted at the edge of the Hamptons, sending residents into a panic and prompting New York Governor Kathy Hochul to declare a state of emergency and warn the dangerous situation could become “a multi-day event”.
The fires — in Center Moriches, East Moriches, Eastport and Westhampton — blanketed part’s of Long Island’s East End shortly after 1pm. Saturday (local time), filling the sky with thick black smoke, threatening homes in middle class communities and wealthy parts of the Hamptons, the New York Post reported.
The flames also shut down the major route to the Hamptons and forced some evacuations, authorities and residents said.
An increase in winds overnight had authorities “very concerned,” Hochul told CNN on Saturday evening. “This could be a multi-day event. I’m also concerned about the air quality … This can shift at any moment, but the air quality is definitely compromised.”
“We’re in a better place than two hours ago but not out of the woods. This is an evolving, ever changing situation,” she said, noting four Blackhawk helicopters were dumping 660 gallons of water in a bid to control the fires. “The control we have may not hold.”
The governor raised concerns about air quality and said the state was shipping 100,000 N95 masks to the region, pointing out that the intensity of the smoke created “a lot of exposure and vulnerability.”
One resident called the situation “catastrophic.”
“It looked like a nuclear bomb – black smoke, flames probably about 100 feet (30 metres) high, if not more,” Lisa DiMiceli told The Post. “It’s not under control at all. It’s very scary.”
DiMiceli, of Manorville, owns a pet boarding business and said Westhampton residents told her they were being evacuated and asked her to take their dogs as they fled.
Authorities would not confirm what sparked the fires, but residents claimed one blaze started after a car accident on Sunrise Highway, in which a vehicle caught fire.
The gusty winds rapidly spread the flames.
“With this wind, a spark will simply ignite it,” said Suffolk County Executive Ed Romaine in a late afternoon news conference in Westhampton Beach.
“The wind is driving this fire.”
One firefighter was taken to the hospital with second degree burns on the face, while others suffered only minor injuries, Romaine said.
Two businesses were damaged, he said.
The flames have engulfed an area 2 miles (3.2 kilometres) long and 2.5 miles wide (4km) and, authorities said.
As of Saturday evening the fires were 50 per cent contained, and helicopters were still circling the area, dropping water to try to quench the flames.
Gov. Kathy Hochul declared a state of emergency, and said the National Guard helicopters were providing support to Suffolk County, while multiple state agencies were on the ground.
“We are in close communication with local partners on Long Island to co-ordinate assistance and make sure they have the resources they need to protect their communities,” Gov. Hochul posted on X.
Romaine said 90 agencies, including more than 40 different fire departments, were on hand.
Residents as far as Fairfield, Connecticut, across the water told The Post they could see the smoke.
“Everyone was trying to figure out, what it was, we were convinced it was a boat on fire or something,” one resident who saw the smoke while walking their dog said.
Flames and black smoke billowed over County Road 51 in Manorville, where the fire crossed the highway shortly before 2pm, photos of the scene showed.
Additional fires were reported in the Pine Barrens and near Francis S. Gabreski Airport in Westhampton, shutting Sunrise Highway in both directions at Exit 58, authorities said. That’s the major access road toward the more exclusive parts of the Hamptons to the east.
Brookhaven Town Supervisor Dan Panico posted video from a helicopter showing the scope of the blazes and the resulting smoke.
“Video from above of the massive wildfire in the pine barrens. Thank you to all of the firefighters and first responders fighting this blaze,” Panico wrote on Facebook.
For many residents the fire brought bad memories of another nightmare that happened three decades ago in the same area.
The Sunrise Fire of 1995 scorched 4500 acres of pine barrens and damaged about a dozen homes before it was put out by firefighters from across the state.
This story originally appeared on the New York Post and was republished with permission.
Originally published as ‘Catastrophic’: Emergency warning over Long Island fire
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