Crews extinguish Sound Beach brush fire as all of Long Island remains under high risk
Firefighters have put out at least three brush fires in Suffolk County in the last week and a half.
All of Long Island is currently under a high risk for brush fires, according to the New York State Department of Environmental Conservation.
A combination of abnormally dry conditions, along with very low humidity and high winds are all factoring in.
Yesterday evening in Sound Beach, crews took an hour to get a brush fire under control after it burned about 75 feet of woods at the end of Port Jefferson Road.
"There were some flames and I did see a lot of smoke," Sound Beach resident Lynn Mitchell said. "I was grateful that it wasn't a windy day because that would have been pretty bad. As you can see, there are a lot of dried bushes and trees."
Suffolk County Fire Coordinator Rudy Sunderman said firefighters have responded to six brush fires in the last two days across the county.
News 12 has reported on even more outside of that time frame.
On Tuesday, a brush fire burned the greenhouse, a tractor and multiple chicken coops and BB & GG Farm Stand in St. James on Route 25A around 5 a.m.
That morning, the farm wrote online: "We want to thank everyone for reaching out. We suffered a small fire; thankfully, it was fully contained and no one was hurt. We are now looking forward to our upcoming Spring season, and our nursery and flowers are getting ready for their grand debut."
Then on Tuesday, March 31, a brush fire broke out around 6 p.m. on the sand near the harbor in Port Jefferson. No one was hurt, according to officials.
Sunderman said Long Islanders should avoid having open fires and tossing lit cigarettes on the ground.
"If you see something, you should report it immediately," he said. "Don't assume someone else has. Early reporting gives us early extinguishment."
Nassau County fire officials said there have been no notable brush fires in the county over the last two weeks, but the county coordinated with the state on two prescribed burns to reduce the risk of future brush fires at the Hempstead Plains by the Long Island Marriott in Uniondale and the Greentree Estates in Manhasset.
New York's statewide burn ban went into effect on March 16 and remains in place until May 14.
