Firefighters in New York continued to fight at least once on the wooded Long Island Brush Fire, with Hampton’s wealthy coastal enclave vulnerable, and officials warned that high winds threatened to ignite further fires.
The state’s Democratic Governor Kathy Hochul declared a state of emergency Saturday after the fire broke out. Flames spread across narrow barrier land, stretching 100 miles east from New York City and 100 miles to the Atlantic Ocean.
A huge fire broke out in the Pines area of Long Island, prompting road closure and evacuation of military bases.
According to Michael Martino, spokesman for Suffolk County Executive Ed Romaine, three fires had been included as of Sunday morning, and one was still burning in the small village of Westhampton.
Martino said local firefighters, as well as the Air National Guard, worked all night, with about 80% of the fires.
He said the Suffolk County Police Department arson squad had investigated the fire, although there was no immediate evidence to suggest arson.
At least two commercial structures were damaged. A firefighter was taken to the hospital and was burned on Saturday.
Large-scale smoke shrouded on the sunrise highway leading to Hampton, a series of historic seaside communities flanked by grand sandy beaches with rolling waves and scattered with affluent and famous summer mansions.
According to the National Weather Service, 30 mph gusts are expected on Sunday, making it even more difficult for parts that are still burning.
“Our biggest problem is the wind,” Roma Mayn said in an earlier press conference. “It’s firing.”
Brookhaven town supervisor Daniel Panico said about 15 miles of officials monitored a small brush on the Sunrise Expressway earlier Sunday.
