Felled tree strikes power line, sparking multiple electrical fires in Wading River neighborhood

A power line struck by a felled tree wreaked havoc in a Wading River neighborhood this afternoon.

A resident cut down a tree that hit a power line on Sylvan Drive, Wading River Fire Chief Kevin McQueeney said. The impacted line was the “neutral” and “once the neutral dropped out, you had unregulated power going all over the place,” he said.

The resulting power surges sparked fires at several homes, McQueeney said. Two of them suffered significant damage. One house had the whole electrical service on fire, the chief said.

“Multiple dwellings had fire on the outside, or electrical damage,” McQueeney said. “We were lucky more houses didn’t catch. With something like this, we could have lost a whole block.”

The Wading River Fire Department was initially called for a house fire at 29 Sylvan Drive at 1:05 p.m. The chief called Riverhead Fire Department, Manorville Fire Department, Ridge Fire Department and Sound Beach Fire Department to assist.

PSEG-LI cut power to the area to repair the damage and make sure everything was safe.

“It took about half an hour to get everything under control,” McQueeney said.

Firefighters went door-to-door to check every house on Sylvan Drive and Elizabeth Drive to make sure there were no other electrical fires smoldering.

RiverheadLOCAL photos by Tom Lambui