By Bill Bleyer
Newsday (New York)
Copyright 2007 Newsday, Inc.
BOHEMIA, N.Y. — Thirty-two fire departments turned out yesterday to put out a brush fire that burned about 150 of the 3,473 acres of Connetquot River State Park Preserve in Bohemia.
First Assistant Chief Rich Wilson of the Bohemia Fire Department said the fire was reported at 12:09 p.m. Bohemia and 31 other departments provided brush trucks and firefighters, and the blaze was declared under control at 4:05 p.m. Crews from Bohemia and a few other departments mopped up remaining hot spots.
No one was injured and no buildings were affected, Wilson said.
He said there were no obvious signs that the fire was set intentionally. Yesterday was windy so someone flicking a cigarette butt from a vehicle could have started the fire, Wilson said.
George Gorman Jr., regional director of the state Office of Parks, Recreation and Historic Preservation, said, “The preliminary estimate is about 150 acres in the southeast corner of the park bordering Sycamore and Pond roads are involved.”
Traffic on Sunrise Highway was not affected.
“We have a lot of fire breaks in the park and they worked out very well,” keeping the fire from spreading, Gorman said.