Reflections on the Sunrise Fire sixteen years later

The summer of 1995 in the NY-NJ-CT metropolitan area was a dry one. By the time August 24th rolled around, I believe that eastern Long Island had not seen any rain in twenty-two days. Vegetation was dry, fire danger was high. This was the day that the Sunrise Fire started in the Long Island Pine Barrens near Westhampton. The fire was fueled by very strong winds during the first eight hours, and by thirty-two hours it had grown to over 5,200 acres jumping the multi-lane Sunrise Highway.

Wind driven flames in the eastern end of Long Island, fifty miles east of one of the largest cities in the U.S.

Wind driven flames in an area that had not seen a fire of size and magnitude in some sixty years, when the area was largely agricultural before it was a bedroom community for New York City and suburban office complexes.

Wind driven flames along the Sunrise Highway, one of the main roads into and out of the south fork of eastern Long Island.

Wind driven flames that partially destroyed the Westhampton station of the Long Island Railroad.

Wind driven flames that threatened dozens and dozens of homes and businesses.

Wind driven flames fought by firefighters who wondered if the winds would ever stop driving the flames.

Wind driven flames that were fought by 174 fire departments from Long Island and New York City along with the Army and Air National Guard. Let’s not forget state, regional, and federal crews and resources that came to help.

No one died fighting these wind driven flames.

Wind driven flames that serve as a reminder to those of us in the northeast and the midatlantic regions of the U.S. that major wildfires can happen in our wildland-urban interface.

The winds died down, the fire was under control on Tuesday, August 29.

Only one residence and six “stump jumpers” were destroyed. Seventeen residences, a lumber yard were partially destroyed. It could have been a whole lot worse.

It wasn’t a whole lot worse.

It wasn’t a whole lot worse because of all the men and women who fought the fire.

Thank-you.