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Firefighters have gained control over much of the Pine Barrens wildfires that scorched hundreds of acres along Sunrise Highway this weekend, but officials remain on alert as winds continue to pose a threat—and investigators work to determine how the fires started.
Suffolk County Executive Ed Romaine said Sunday that the fires, which tore through 600 to 700 acres from Center Moriches to Westhampton, are now 80% contained. However, he warned that conditions could reignite flames.
“We thought this fire would jump the highway, and in that case, we’d be facing big problems,” Romaine said.
The massive response effort to what officials are calling the Westhampton Pines Fire included 80 volunteer fire departments and 10 EMS units.
One firefighter suffered second-degree burns to his face, requiring transport to Stony Brook University Hospital. Another responder sustained a head injury and was taken to Peconic Bay Medical Center.
Two commercial buildings sustained damage, Romaine said. No homes were affected by the fires, which started in Center Moriches, and then jumped to East Moriches, Eastport and Westhampton.
Meanwhile, investigators are working to determine the fire’s origin. Suffolk County Police Commissioner Kevin Catalina said 25 detectives are involved in the investigation, including arson detectives who are conducting aerial surveys by helicopter and interviewing all 911 callers who reported the fires.
“At this time, it’s too early to tell whether this fire was started naturally or by some nefarious act,” Catalina said.
Romaine credited coordination among local, state, and federal officials—including New York City Mayor Eric Adams, the White House, and Sen. Chuck Schumer’s office—with helping to bring the fires under control.
“This shows what we can do if we work together,” he said.
Brookhaven Town Supervisor Dan Panico noted that the wind direction yesterday may have prevented huge losses to residential areas and business districts.
“While the wind fanned these flames and made the fire tougher to put out, the wind also for the town of Brookhaven, although we are sorry for what occurred in Southampton, was fortuitous,” Panico said. “Had this wind blown to the southwest, this fire would have ravaged through potentially Eastport, the business district, Manorville, with a ton of homes, East Mauritius. It could have been a very different fire had it gone into Brookhaven town.”
Romaine recalled the devastating 1995 wildfire in the Pine Barrens, which burned for nearly 10 days. Unlike that disaster, Saturday’s fire didn’t jump across Sunrise Highway.
“It hit the southern part of Sunrise highway, but did not jump the highway. In ’95, it jumped the highway and burned to the north as well as to the south. So we’re very lucky,” Romaine said.
Crews are working to establish containment lines around the fire’s perimeter., said Suffolk County Fire Rescue Commissioner Rudy Sunderman.
“If we have to come back tomorrow to reach that 100 percent containment, that’s with our bulldozers and payloaders from all operations and agencies going around the perimeter ensuring 100% of containment of the fire,” Sunderman said.
Romaine expressed concern about the longer-term threat posed by southern pine beetles, which have killed “tens of thousands, if not hundreds of thousands of trees” in the Pine Barrens over the past decade. The damage from the beetle infestation provided ample fuel for the wildfires, in the form of dead and fallen trees.
“These trees are dead. They’ve been dead for a while. They’re fodder for a fire,” Romaine said. “We’re concerned about fires. We’re also concerned about the health of the Pine Barrens ecosystem.”
Due to the lack of rain and persistent windy conditions, residents are asked to refrain from all outdoor burning.
Top photo: Volunteer firefighters from Orient at the scene of the Westhampton wildfire Saturday evening. Credit: Andrew Theodorakis. Inset: County Executive Ed Romaine briefs the press in Westhampton Beach.
