Governor Cuomo Declares State of Emergency for Suffolk County to Help Fight Long Island Wildfires

Albany, NY (April 10, 2012)

Governor Andrew M. Cuomo today declared a state of emergency for Suffolk County to allow New York State to better coordinate and respond with local governments to fight the ongoing wildfires on Long Island.

“With these wildfires causing serious damage on Long Island and other areas of the state, the state of emergency declaration will help us deploy vital resources to affected regions,” Governor Cuomo said. “The state continues to closely monitor the wildfires in Suffolk County, and we will continue to deploy whatever resources are necessary and do whatever is needed to protect New Yorkers and put out these fires.”

Three fires continue to burn in southeastern New York State. The largest fire is in Suffolk County, covering territory in the municipalities of Ridge, Wading River, Manorville and Brookhaven. A small number of residences have been evacuated as a precaution and shelter has been made available by the American Red Cross. Smaller fires have been reported on Staten Island, New York City and in Rockland County. A Red Flag Warning was issued by the National Weather Service effective 10:00 AM this morning to 8:00 PM this evening for New York City and Long Island.

A state of emergency enables New York to mobilize state resources to assist local governments more effectively and quickly, and if necessary gives the Governor the authority to suspend statutes, rules and regulations that would impede response and recovery activities. The declaration further gives the Governor the ability to direct state resources, such as firefighting equipment and personnel, to local governments in need. The declaration applies to Suffolk County.

Steps taken by New York State include:

• Field staff from State Police, Forest Ranger crews from the Department of Environmental Conservation, Fire Protection Specialists, and Office of Emergency Management staff have all been deployed to assist local governments in Suffolk County
•  More than 245 personnel are on the ground assisting in the emergency response effort and an additional 150 firefighters from 27 local volunteer fire departments are on the scene participating in firefighting efforts, which will continue throughout the night.
• One State Police helicopter has been deployed for more than 20 water dropping operations.  The helicopter is equipped with a Bambi Bucket ‘which can carry 250 gallons of water.  The water is scooped up from a local pond or lake and dropped on the hottest parts of the fire.
• One helicopter from the National Guard has been used for aerial surveys to determine fire perimeter and fire spread projections.