A state of emergency has been declared for Long Island, N.Y., after several brush fires affected the area this weekend.
New York Governor Kathy Hochul made the announcement on Saturday, March 8, after the fires blazed through the area as a result of strong winds.
“I am issuing a State of Emergency as Suffolk County fights brush fires in the Pine Barrens. I have spoken to @ExecEdRomaine and offered any necessary State resources,” Hochul, 66, wrote on X. “We have @NationalGuardNY helicopters providing air support, and multiple state agencies are on the ground.”
The New York Air National Guard shows smoke from the fires in the Pine Barrens off Sunrise Highway in New York’s Long Island on March 8 Long Island, on Saturday, March 8,.
Cheran Campbell/New York Air National Guard via AP
A first fire started at around 1:00 p.m. local time in Center Moriches in Suffolk County, before spreading and growing in East Moriches, Eastport and Westhampton, per local outlet News 12.
The fire in Westhampton was contained by 80% at around 8:00 p.m. local time on March 8, while three other fires have since been extinguished, the outlet reported.
A rescue helicopter picks up water at Wild Wood Lake in Westhampton, New York, on March 8.
Andrew Theodorakis/Getty
Suffolk Executive Ed Romaine said in a news conference on March 8 that the fires at their largest were “two and a half miles long and two and a half miles wide.” He added that almost 80 fire departments and 20 EMS agencies responded to the fires.
Romaine confirmed that one firefighter suffered a second-degree burn to the face and was taken to the nearby Stony Brook University Hospital. No other major injuries have been reported.
The National Guard dropped water over the areas where the fires spread, but the high winds made the process difficult, News 12 reported.
Video footage of the fires posted online shows smoke blazing across the sides of highways and fires growing tall in nearby fields and roads.
Firefighters assemble around rescue units while putting out fires in Westhampton on March 8.
Andrew Theodorakis/Gett
Hochul said in an interview with News 12 that the winds were “creating havoc” in the affected communities of Long Island and that evacuation was necessary.
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The fires reportedly spread near Francis S Gabreski Airport, three miles north of central Westhampton Beach, and an evacuation was issued there as a “precautionary measure,” New York Air National Guard spokesperson Cheran Campbell said in a statement, per The Guardian.
Several local highways were shut down due to fires, though some have reopened since the majority of the fire was contained, News 12 reported.
PEOPLE has reached out to Suffolk County Fire Rescue and Emergency Services for comment.
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