SUFFOLK COUNTY, Long Island (WABC) — Crews got the upper hand against the massive brush fires that raged across parts of Long Island’s Pine Barrens, with the four brush fires knocked down on Sunday.

More than 90 different fire departments, EMS agencies and the National Guard battled the flames from the brush fires that started around 1 p.m. Saturday along Sunrise Highway.

Efforts continue to contain the Westhampton Pines fire, which is 100% knocked down but only 22% contained after burning over 400 acres.

“Knocked down” refers to all visible fire, whereas containment refers to the creation of a fire break around the perimeter, according to Suffolk County Fire Rescue and Emergency Services Commissioner Rudy Sunderman.

During a Sunday morning news conference, Westhampton Beach Second Assistant Fire Chief Lewis Scott said all roads have since reopened and officials hope to fully contain the remaining flames later in the day.

“Working in the woods on the overnight is dangerous, so we scaled that down. As you can see, we have more apparatus arriving now. So, we anticipate going out there, seeing what we have and then making our decisions from that,” Scott said.

Officials are investigating the fires as a potential act of arson, according to Suffolk County Executive Ed Romaine. The investigation will include the use of drones to canvass the fire areas and also interviewing 911 callers about the incident.

Hundreds of drivers had to find another way around town on Saturday as heavy smoke billowing for miles temporarily shut down the busy Sunrise Highway.

Mark Cirillo could not believe what was happening as towering flames were surrounding his business on Old Riverhead Road in Westhampton.

“The fire exploded and flames went up and over the building and enveloped the whole place,” said Cirillo.

Initially he was inside AutoGate Systems and smelled smoke around 1 p.m. Saturday. He ran outside and started moving all of these vehicles that were parked just a few feet from the raging fire. He says his own safety was not top of mind rathern than the business he started in 1990.

“I’ve been here a long time and I just want to do what we can do” Cirillo adds.

As the fire was ripping through the area, Circillo was there all alone. He was able to save the main structure on his property but that one a second building, it went up in flames.

Authorities say the area involved stretched three miles long by one mile wide from Center Moriches towards Gabreski Airport in Westhampton Beach. It was on the south side of Sunrise Highway as smoke crept perilously toward that airport — ironically air national guardsmen who saw it were at the ready and were available to start fighting the fire with water from above.

Officials say high winds and low humidity fueled the flames.

“There was a lot of downed trees in the vicinity that fed this fire, and that’s when we saw the huge clouds of smoke that engulfed this entire area,” Romaine said.

Stacey Sager has the latest developments.

The fast-spreading fire prompted New York Gov. Kathy Hochul to declare a state of emergency in the town of Southampton in Suffolk County.

“We are deploying resources as quickly as possible, and I have mobilized our agencies, the National Guard and the State Police to provide air and ground support to ensure we keep our Long Islanders safe,” Hochul said in a statement released Saturday night.

The state of emergency remains in effect on Sunday. Meanwhile, the Town of Southampton continues to urge residents to refrain from burning any and all outdoor recreational fires.

Officials say there are currently no evacuations and that no homes were damaged.

Two firefighters were injured while battling the fires, including one who suffered a second-degree burn to his face and another who suffered a head injury. Both firefighters have since been released from the hospital.

Two commercial structures nearby were also damaged as a result of the fires.

The fires broke out in the same vicinity of the Pine Barrens in which a much worse wind-driven blaze devastated thousands of acres along the Sunrise Highway in the late summer of 1995. Drought conditions that year also set the stage for the conflagration, which lasted over a week and whose cause was never determined.

Officials say the Pine Barrens is a fire-dependent system, which means much of the ecosystem and its plant life depends on fire in order to have regrowth and to flourish. Officials add that they do not expect any major impacts to the Pine Barrens because of the fire, but instead anticipate a rebound in the ecosystem long term.

———-

* More Long Island news

* Send us a news tip

* Download the abc7NY app for breaking news alerts

* Follow us on YouTube

Have a breaking news tip or an idea for a story we should cover? Send it to Eyewitness News using the form below. If attaching a video or photo, terms of use apply.

Copyright © 2025 WABC-TV. All Rights Reserved.