NEW YORK — Firefighters in New York knocked down a dwindling brush fire in a wooded stretch of Long Island on Sunday as officials warned that high wind gusts could leave the region vulnerable to additional blazes.
Governor Kathy Hochul declared a state of emergency a day earlier after four fires broke out across large swaths of Long Island’s Pine Barrens region, prompting closures to the highway and the evacuation of a military base.
As of Sunday, all visible flames had been knocked down, including the last remaining fire burning in the hamlet of Westhampton, according to Suffolk County Fire Coordinator Rudy Sunderman. He said at a Sunday news conference that crews were working on containment lines around the fire to prevent further spread. Authorities said the fire had not grown since early Sunday.
Still, officials were cautious as wind gusts of up to 30 miles per hour were expected Sunday, which could reignite the blazes.
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