New York Governor Kathy Hochul declared a state of emergency this weekend as wildfires threatened areas of Long Island.
In total, four different fires started Saturday and were spread by high winds, although fire officials were able to extinguish three of them by the end of the day, NBC-4 reported. Firefighters still were working to stop the fourth and largest fire as officials pulled resources from more than 80 fire departments.
"I am issuing a State of Emergency as Suffolk County fights brush fires in the Pine Barrens," Hochul said in a post on X. She added that the state is providing any needed resources, including helicopters for air support, as well as state agencies on the ground.
News 12 Long Island noted that weather conditions, while still favorable to spreading the fire, had improved over Saturday. Sunday, the humidity was supposed to be 40% to 50% with wind gusts of up to 35 mph this afternoon. Both numbers were improvements over Saturday when humidity was down to 25% and wind speed up to 43 mph.
"This fire at its largest, which is still burning, is 2 miles long and 2.5 miles wide," County Executive Ed Romaine told NBC-4 at a joint press conference held by responding agencies at 5:30 p.m. "It started in Center Moriches, then to East Moriches, then Eastport and then Westhampton, and now the fire is heading toward Quogue."
The station reported that one firefighter suffered facial burns and was taken to Stony Brook Hospital.
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