Governor Hochul Issues Burn Ban for Long Island, New York City, and Parts of the Hudson Valley; Read Proclamation Here

State of Emergency Declared To Prioritize Deployment of Ground and Air Support for Immediate Fire Suppression

Eight Helicopters on Standby Today to Support Firefighting Mission

Four New York National Guard Helicopters Conducted 88 Water Drops Totaling More than 24,000 Gallons on Saturday

State Emergency Operations Center Activated; Office of Fire Prevention and Control Establishes Fire Operations Center, and Activates Fire Mobilization and Mutual Aid Plan

Strong Winds and Dry Weather to Continue Sunday into Monday

Governor Kathy Hochul on Mar 9th, provided an update on the brush fires in Suffolk County that began Saturday afternoon. Based on the ongoing increase in fire risk from gusty winds and lower relative humidity, Governor Hochul has directed the New York State Department of Environmental Conservation (DEC) to implement an immediate burn ban for Long Island, New York City, and parts of the Hudson Valley until the annual statewide ban on residential brush burning takes effect on March 16.

“New Yorkers are facing increased wildfire risks due to the combination of dry conditions and strong winds,” Governor Hochul said. “As we work tirelessly to combat the fires in Suffolk County, we must all do our part to prevent further damage. I have issued an immediate burn ban across Long Island, New York City, and parts of the Hudson Valley to protect our communities, and our state resources are fully mobilized to support fire suppression efforts.”

Counties in the multi-regional burn ban include: Long Island, New York City, and parts of the Hudson Valley until the annual statewide ban on residential brush burning takes effect on March 16. Counties include: Nassau, Suffolk, Richmond, Kings, Queens, Bronx, New York, Westchester, Putnam, Orange, Rockland, Dutchess, and Ulster. The multi-regional burn ban prohibits the starting of outdoor fires for purposes of brush and debris disposal, as well as uncontained campfires, and open fires used for cooking. Backyard fire pits and contained campfires less than three feet in height and four feet in length, width, or diameter are allowed, as are small, contained cooking fires. For more information about the annual ban on residential brush burning taking effect March 16 and tips about fire safety and prevention, visit DEC's FIREWISE New York webpage.

Dry conditions continued today. Relative humidity is expected to rise back up through the 40s to more than 50 percent tonight and temperatures will slowly fall to the lower 40s.

On Saturday, the Governor declared a State of Emergency in Suffolk County to prioritize the deployment of ground and air support to assist with fire suppression. At the Governor’s direction, the New York National Guard has four helicopters performing water drops, and a C-130 is supporting aerial monitoring. On Saturday, the helicopters flew 88 missions, dropping 24,200 gallons of water on the fires. Additionally, the New York State Office of Fire Prevention and Control has opened the State Fire Operations Center and activated the state’s Fire Mobilization and Mutual Aid Plan to support any resource requests from local fire departments.

New York State Agencies’ Response

New York State Department of Environmental Conservation
DEC Forest Rangers and emergency management and operations personnel are on scene, coordinating with West Hampton Incident Command on firefighting efforts and potential aviation bucket drops. Rangers are on the ground to assess impacted areas and help fight the fire and are working with DEC Operations crews to enhance fire containment with heavy equipment mobilization. The fire spread from Suffolk County parkland yesterday to the Westhampton Dwarf Pine Plains Pine Barrens State Forest. For more information about fire safety and prevention, visit DEC's FIREWISE New York webpage.

The New York State Division of Homeland Security and Emergency Services
Agency staff are on site in Suffolk County to support local response activities and the State Emergency Operation Center was activated on Saturday. In addition, the Office of Fire Prevention and Control has opened their Fire Operation Center, and the New York Fire Mobilization and Mutual Aid Plan has been activated for any potential requests from Suffolk County.

The Division’s Office of Emergency Management is in contact with their local counterparts and is prepared to facilitate requests for assistance. State stockpiles are ready to deploy emergency response assets and supplies as needed.

The Office of Interoperable and Emergency Communications also remains on alert and is prepared to support requests for emergency communications support.

New York State Department of Transportation
The State Department of Transportation is providing two bulldozers, two operators and a supervisor to assist with ongoing cleanup efforts in Suffolk County.

Division of Military and Naval Affairs
Today, the New York National Guard will have eight helicopters on standby for firefighting missions.

Five helicopters, three UH-60M Black Hawks and two CH-47F Chinook helicopters – will be on standby at the Army Aviation Support Facility at Long Island MacArthur Airport.

The CH-47s are normally based in Rochester. They can carry firefighting buckets holding up to 2,000 gallons of water. The buckets employed by the Black Hawks carry 660 gallons of water.

Another three UH-60M Black Hawks will be on standby at Albany International Airport.

On March 8, three UH-60M Black Hawk Army National Guard helicopters and one HH-60W Jolly Green II Air Guard helicopter flew 44 drop missions during the day.

The Army National Guard helicopters, based in Ronkonkoma flew 16 drop missions. The Air National Guard helicopter based right next to the fire at F.S. Gabreski Air National Guard Base, flew 28 drop missions.

Two New York Air National Guard HC-130 Combat King II search and rescue aircraft flew for 9 hours acting as an airborne command and control station during the missions.

This morning the National Guard helicopters are on standby.

New York State Police
New York State Police Unmanned Aerial System “drone” teams are providing live monitoring of the fires. Other State Police Aviation assets are on standby and ready to assist.

Office of Parks, Recreation and Historic Preservation
New York State Park Police and park personnel are on alert and closely monitoring conditions. Staff is on fire watch at Wildwood, Brookhaven, Hither Hills and Napeague State Parks. Regional emergency management staff are assisting at the command post.

About Wildfires

• Wildfires, often called forest fires, damage thousands of acres of natural resources almost every year in New York.
• Wildfires commonly occur in the spring during dry and windy conditions.
• Although wildfires naturally occur from lightning, human activities are the cause of most wildfires.
• In an average year, New York State sees approximately 1,400 acres total burned in wildfires.

Burn Ban and How Communities Can Help Protect Themselves from Damage

• Violators of the State's open burning regulation are subject to criminal and civil enforcement actions, with a minimum fine of $500 for a first offense.
• Residents are encouraged to abide by the current burn ban issued by Governor Hochul to prevent additional wildfires from occurring.
• To reduce fire danger, residents are encouraged to remove leaves and debris from areas close to their homes.
• Since 2009, DEC enforces the annual brush burning ban from March 16 through May 14 to prevent wildfires and protect communities during heightened conditions for wildfires.

More information about wildfires is available on DEC’s webpage: Wildfires - NYSDEC