Westhampton brush fire knocked down, as Suffolk police arson probe gets underway

The Westhampton brush fire that burned 400 acres of dry woodland forest and sparked a massive statewide response in eastern Suffolk County on Saturday has been fully knocked down, while arson investigators have launched a probe into the cause of the blaze.

First responders and local officials were relieved on Sunday that the region was spared from widescale injuries and property damage during the fire, the biggest of four in the area.

But they cautioned that a risk remained that the fire could restart.

Suffolk County Fire, Rescue and Emergency Services Commissioner Rudy Sunderman said the fire will not be considered completely "contained" until 10-foot breaks are built around the full perimeter of the fire, where combustible materials and elements are removed to prevent it from reigniting and spreading.

Suffolk County Executive Edward P. Romaine said the county was "lucky" the fire did not spread further.

"We thought the fire would jump the highway, in which case we’d have big problems because that’s where most of the pine barrens are," Romaine said at a morning news conference.

Investigating the cause

Throughout the day Sunday, bulldozers and other heavy equipment trucks cleared vegetation to create the buffers. As of 7 p.m. on Sunday, the breaks were 60% completed, Sunderman said, adding that the work will continue on Monday morning.

A team of 25 detectives, working alongside arson investigators in helicopters, on Sunday began looking into the origins of the fire.

Suffolk County Police Commissioner Kevin Catalina said the investigation includes interviewing all 911 callers.

"We're going to get to the bottom of this," Catalina said. Investigators are still days away from determining the official cause of the fire, he said. 

"God forbid this was started by somebody," he said. "We want to make sure that it doesn't happen again."

Arson squad detectives Sunday afternoon could be seen canvassing the south side of Sunrise Highway, near Manorville and Eastport, examining several locations where stretches of brush along the side of the road were charred from the fires.

A crime scene detective, meanwhile, flew a drone capturing images over each area as they worked their way east toward the Westhampton exit, where fire marshals also worked the scene.

Gov. Kathy Hochul on Sunday announced an immediate "burn ban" for all of Long Island, New York City and parts of the Hudson Valley. The ban prohibits igniting any outdoor fires to remove brush or debris, as well any uncontained campfires or open fires for cooking.

Backyard fire pits and contained campfires that are less than 3 feet in height and 4 feet in length, width or diameter are allowed, as are small, contained cooking fires.

"New Yorkers are facing increased wildfire risks due to the combination of dry conditions and strong winds," Hochul said in a statement, adding that the annual statewide ban on residential brush burning takes effect March 16. 

A day earlier, the governor had declared a state of emergency in Suffolk County, which prioritized the deployment of ground and air support to help with fire suppression.

Amanda Lefton, acting commissioner of the New York State Department of Environmental Conservation, said her agency was coordinating air resources to dampen the dry woodlands, including bucket drops by the National Guard, while also monitoring air quality around the fire.

"At this time, we're not seeing any increased threat from air quality," Lefton said, adding that if people smell smoke, they should head indoors or wear masks to protect themselves.

'Happened so fast'

A brush fire started around 1 p.m. in Center Moriches on Saturday, and fires spread to East Moriches, Eastport and Westhampton.

The Westhampton fire was the largest of the blazes, measuring 2 miles long and 2½ miles wide. Sunderman said it had burned 400 acres. Westhampton officials had earlier offered a higher figure of about 600 acres.

Two firefighters suffered minor injuries while battling the fires and they were both released from the hospital, Sunderman said.

Two commercial buildings also sustained damage — Autogate Systems on Old Riverhead Road and a chemical company, although that building did not contain any chemicals, said Lewis Scott, chief of the Westhampton Beach Fire Department.

No residential structures were damaged, and no evacuations were ordered.

Absent the flames and deep smoke seen on Saturday, firefighters Sunday could instead be seen spraying small areas along Old Riverhead Road, where the ground continued to smolder. 

As the sun set along Old Riverhead Road in Westhampton Beach Sunday, an excavator cut a swath through the scrub-forest, churning up roots, pine needles and sandy soil in its wake. Behind the machine, a forest ranger in a neon yellow jacket and hard hat used a hoe to remove remaining woody debris and shunt it to the side, leaving a roughly 15-foot swath of land devoid of any vegetation.

The area was completely devoid of color — from the ground to the tips of the trees, which were still standing but charred and denuded.

Monica Guerrero, 48, of East Quogue, said she and her daughter, Nicole Guerrero, 20, were doing yard work outside Saturday when they saw smoke from the fires. At first they thought they were seeing clouds, but then Nicole began receiving messages about the fires and photos from friends.

"Then we saw that the sun was orange," Monica Guerrero said on Sunday while grocery shopping in Hampton Bays.

They were surprised at how quickly the fire was contained.

"They were able to do a wonderful job," Monica Guerrero said of the first responders. "We're very grateful, because it happened so fast."

Dry conditions a factor

The weather appears to have exacerbated Saturday's conditions, making the fires more difficult to get under control.

Long Island has not seen much snowfall this winter. Combined with several days of gusty winds, that made conditions ideal for brush fires, said NewsdayTV meteorologist Rich Van Ohlen.

On Sunday, Von Ohlen said wind gusts had slowed but still reached 25 to 35 miles per hour in the early evening.

The winds were coming from the south, which could bring higher humidity and therefore lower fire risk, according to Bryan Ramsey, a meteorologist with the National Weather Service in Upton.

As for relief from the recent dry spell, Ramsey said, "it looks like a pretty dry forecast until maybe the weekend."

Lefton, the DEC's acting commissioner, said the fires are unlikely to have a major impact on the pine barrens ecosystem, which she called a "fire-dependent system."

"This is what helps the pine barrens actually regrow and get more healthy over time," Lefton said, adding that the growth will begin after the next rain and continue over the next several years.

Brian Gallagher, a forest ranger with the state DEC, said plans had been recently approved to begin controlled burns in the vicinity of the fires. While controlled burns have occurred to the west in Flanders and Rocky Point over the past few years, intentionally thinning the forest to make the remaining trees more resilient, they have not been conducted in Westhampton.

Romaine said the overall health of the forest, including the destruction caused by the southern pine beetle, is a major concern.

"There are dead trees all over because of this," Romaine said of the insect. "It may not have been a major contributing factor to the fire, but should a fire start up, these trees are dead."

Rep. Nick LaLota (R-Amityville), who arrived at the Gabreski Airport staging area Sunday morning, praised the efforts of the approximately 90 responding agencies.

LaLota said he'll work to secure federal funding if the fire qualifies as a FEMA disaster — clearing $37 million in uninsured damages.

"Thankfully, we're not at the monetary point where it does qualify," LaLota said of the estimated damages. "If we do, Washington ought to be there to help my neighbors."

Suffolk has yet to conduct an assessment of the financial cost of the brush fires, said Michael Martino, a county spokesman.

Sens. Chuck Schumer and Kirsten Gillibrand wrote Sunday to FEMA acting Administrator Cameron Hamilton, urging the agency to work with affected communities, and, if the state requests it, "to make assistance available through a federal disaster declaration as expeditiously as possible."

Shades of 1995

Lynn Bennett, 64, of Southampton, said although she didn’t see the fires near her home, she was concerned for her adult children who live in East Quogue.

"I was worried it was going to last longer because I was here in ’95," Bennett said, recalling the Sunrise Fire of 1995, which took more than a week to put out.

Mark Bennett, 59, an assistant captain in the Amagansett Fire Department, said he was one of the many volunteer firefighters who assisted in containing the wildfires.

Mark Bennett, of Amagansett, also aided in extinguishing the Sunrise Fire.

"I think they learned after ’95," he said. "Get everybody there as fast as they can."