10 Photos
The East Hampton Fire Department was called out to a brush fire in Wainscott Woods on Saturday.
The brush fire in Wainscott Woods. MICHAEL HELLER
Changing winds shifted the fire Saturday afternoon. MICHAEL HELLER
The fire's remote location made the battle challenging. MICHAEL HELLER
At the brush fire in Wainscott Woods Saturday afternoon. MICHAEL HELLER
The brush fire was deep in the woods near the power lines. MICHAEL HELLER
Fighting the brush fire Saturday afternoon. MICHAEL HELLER
Fighting the brush fire. MICHAEL HELLER
The county's helicopter checked for smoldering hot spots after the fire was out. MICHAEL HELLER
Fighting the brush fire. MICHAEL HELLER
Remote and difficult terrain, plus changing wind made fighting an expansive brush fire in Wainscott Woods very challenging for the 100 or so volunteers from five departments who responded Saturday afternoon, East Hampton Fire Department Chief Gerard Turza said that evening.
One small column of smoke rose above the treetops, just after noon, as firefighters searched out its remote origins. “The fire was burning up a hill,” Chief Turza explained. “The wind pushed it. It started at the base of a hill in a valley, then the wind shifted and it spread on us.” At one point about 15 acres of land were affected. “It was pretty sizable,” the chief said.
Luckily, neighboring fire departments — Sag Harbor, Amagansett, Bridgehampton, and Southampton — brought brush trucks and, said the chief, their well-trained drivers knew how to employ a coordinated attack. East Hampton Fire Department had a brush truck on the scene as well, but it became disabled. East Hampton and Southampton ambulance personnel were also on the scene. There was no immediate reports of injuries.
The call came in at a little after noon on Saturday, April 10, after a pilot taking off from East Hampton Airport spied the flames while flying over the secluded section of Wainscott Woods, just north of the Maidstone Gun Club up behind the power lines near Town Line Road.
As volunteers battled the blaze in the brush another call — this one a structure fire — came in. There was a house fire on Fieldview Lane, in the basement. The chief said members of the Springs Fire Department provided mutual aid and responded to the fire, extinguishing it in a short period of time.
The fire in the woods was out by about 3:30 p.m. The chief reported assistance from two fire coordinators from the Suffolk County Fire Rescue and Emergency Services who helped with logistics, and the county police aviation unit sent a helicopter to undertake overhead observation, making sure no smoldering hot spots had been overlooked.
The town fire marshal said the cause of the fire was undetermined as of late Saturday afternoon, East Hampton Town Police Sergeant Daniel Roman reported.
