All 4 Long Island brush fires contained, 2 firefighters hurt, 2 buildings damaged

March 9, 2025

A rescue helicopter carries water along Route 27 on March 8, 2025 in Westhampton, New York. (Photo by Andrew Theodorakis/Getty Images)
A rescue helicopter carries water along Route 27 on March 8, 2025 in Westhampton, New York. (Photo by Andrew Theodorakis/Getty Images)
UPDATED: March 9, 2025 at 4:18 PM EDT

All four Long Island brush fires that sent soaring plumes of smoke into the air had been contained by Sunday afternoon, authorities said.

Two firefighters were hurt battling the blazes and two commercial buildings were damaged, Newsday reported. No residential buildings were damaged; any earlier reports of burned homes were erroneous.

A rescue helicopter picks up water at Wild Wood Lake on March 8, 2025 in Westhampton, New York. (Photo by Andrew Theodorakis/Getty Images)
A rescue helicopter picks up water at Wild Wood Lake in Westhampton Saturday. (Photo by Andrew Theodorakis/Getty Images)

The four fires combined to torch about 600 acres across the Pine Barrens in Suffolk County, according to county executive Ed Romaine. More than 90 departments responded to the blazes to keep them away from major population centers.

All roads that had been closed Saturday, including a 4-mile stretch of the Sunrise Highway, were reopened Sunday afternoon, according to Newsday. Authorities are still investigating how the fires started, including the possibility of arson.

“I know there are rumors out there,” Southampton emergency leader Ryan Murphy told Newsday. “We are in standard investigation mode.”

A state of emergency remained in place throughout Suffolk County on Sunday, News 12 Long Island reported. Gov. Hochul declared the state of emergency on Saturday afternoon, shortly after the fires erupted on the island’s south shore.

This image from video provided by Andrew Tallon shows smoke from fires in New York's Long Island, on Saturday, March 8, 2025, seen from Southampton, N.Y. (Andrew Tallon via AP)
This image from video provided by Andrew Tallon shows smoke from fires in Long Island on Saturday as seen from Southampton. (Andrew Tallon via AP)

By Sunday afternoon, firefighting crews were focused on putting out hot spots and preventing flare ups from the previous day’s blazes. However, the potential for new fires remained into Sunday, as wind gusts were expected to reach 25 mph and no precipitation was in the forecast.

Saturday’s largest fire was in Westhampton, stretching 2 miles long and 2.5 miles wide at its peak strength, officials said. County Executive Romaine described the area as “very lucky” conditions did not get worse.

Originally Published: March 9, 2025 at 2:43 PM EDT

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