When a fire broke out along Sunrise Highway over the weekend, people feared it could blow up into the massive blaze of 1995, which burned 7,000 acres of pine barrens and took 10 days to extinguish. The area was a tinderbox with thousands of dead trees from the southern pine beetle, and residents were on edge after the California fires destroyed huge swaths of Los Angeles. Could another tragedy strike?
When Saturday’s fire started in Center Moriches, firefighters were quickly on the scene. Winds pushing 40 mph drove the flames eastward, and when they hit the pine barrens near Sunrise Highway in Westhampton, emergency officials were ready for the worst.
County Executive Ed Romaine declared a state of emergency, and 90 fire departments from across Long Island responded. Heavy equipment rolled in from surrounding towns, water was dropped from National Guard aircraft, and firefighters were directed by helicopters and drones.
By Sunday afternoon, the fire was contained, and the community breathed a sigh of relief. Though two commercial buildings were heavily damaged, the fire spared Gabreski Airport and surrounding residential developments.
“This wasn't a brush fire; this was a wildfire,” Romaine said at a news conference surrounded by officials from the many responding agencies. “Look at the pictures of the smoke. This was a wildfire that burned and burned and burned. And our firefighters were able to get it under control within about, I would say, 12 hours.”
“We had plenty of water,” noted Rudy Sunderman, Suffolk’s Fire, Rescue, and Emergency Services Department director. “We have hydrants in the area and tankers from the various departments, plus drops from the National Guard. Heavy equipment from the county and Brookhaven and Southampton towns were used to create a containment area to keep flames from spreading.”
The quick, massive response by the emergency management community, many of them volunteers, was a key difference from the 1995 event, according to the County Executive. “This fire is mostly under control now due to the firefighters that showed up. Thank God it was a Saturday, and everyone responded. And it showed us one thing: If we all work together to address emergencies, we can get things done,” he said.
As news of the fire spread, Romaine said he was contacted by Bruce Blakeman, his counterpart in Nassau, and New York Mayor Eric Adams with offers of support. He also received calls from Gov. Kathy Hochul, who also declared a state of emergency, along with U.S. Homeland Security, and Senator Chuck Schumer. He thanked a number of responding agencies, including the Riverhead, Southampton, Suffolk, and state police, county Sheriff, state Department of Conservation and Forest Rangers, town and county fire marshals, and the villages of Westhampton Beach and Quogue, as well as EMS and ambulance crews from surrounding jurisdictions.
On the scene was Suffolk Police Commissioner Kevin Catalina, who said he dedicated 25 detectives to investigate the cause of the fire. “We are reviewing extensive video from the area and interviewing 9-11 callers,” Catalina reported. “If it was started by someone, we’re going to make sure it doesn’t happen again.” One official commented, "You wouldn’t see a response like that if arson wasn’t suspected.”
The new commissioner of the state DEC, Amanda Lefton, noted that fires in the pine barrens are a natural occurrence and contribute to the health of the forests by clearing out brush and undergrowth. “You will see quick results after the first rain. It should get green pretty fast,” Lefton said. She added that the pine trees turned brown from the southern beetle were not a significant factor in the fire, but remain an area of concern. Forest Ranger Brian Gallagher said there is a controlled burn plan in place with recent activities in Rocky Point and Flanders, but no clearing activities using fire had taken place in the current area for a while.
“We all have bad memories of 1995,” recalled Romaine, who was county clerk at the time. “We had 60 million records stored at the old Bomark facility, and the flames got pretty close,” he said, reiterating his fear that the thousands of trees killed by the pine beetle have created “food and fodder for fire.”