Firefighters seek to contain wind-driven brush fire on Long Island

NEW YORK — Firefighters in New York were continuing to battle at least one brush fire in a wooded stretch of Long Island on Sunday as officials warned that high wind gusts would leave the region vulnerable to additional blazes.

Gov. Kathy Hochul declared a state of emergency Saturday after four separate fires broke out across large swaths of Long Island’s Pine Barrens region, prompting closures to the highway and evacuations of a military base.

As of Sunday morning, three of those fires had been contained, while one was still burning in the hamlet of Westhampton, according to Michael Martino, a spokesperson for Suffolk County Executive Ed Romaine.

Local fire crews, as well as the Air National Guard, worked through the night, containing roughly 80% of the blaze, according to Martino.

He said the Suffolk County Police Department’s arson squad had initiated an investigation into the blaze, though there was no immediate evidence to suggest arson.

At least two commercial structures had been damaged. One firefighter was flown to a hospital to be treated for burns to the face on Saturday.

Officials warned that continuing high winds Sunday could make the fire difficult to quickly put out. According to the National Weather Service, wind gusts of up to 30 mph (48 kph) were expected Sunday.

“Our biggest problem is the wind,” Romaine said at an earlier news conference. “It is driving this fire.”

Roughly 15 miles (24 kilometers) west, officials were monitoring a small brush fire along Sunrise Highway early Sunday, Brookhaven Town Supervisor Daniel J. Panico said. But there were no visible flames as of Sunday morning.