Manorville brush fire took more than 10 hours to control Sunday

Firefighters spent the entire day Sunday battling a brush fire in the Manorville woods.

The operation spanned more than 10 hours, required the assistance of 18 area fire departments, a helicopter, drones, two bulldozers and a Gator ATV, in addition to fire department brush trucks, engines and tanker trucks — needed to bring water to the remote woodlands to douse the flames.

The cause of the fire remains undetermined, Manorville Fire Department Chief Joe Danowski said yesterday.

The Suffolk County fire marshal’s office is investigating, he said. The fire was on county-owned property, he said.

Bulldozers from Riverhead Highway Department and Suffolk County Department of Public Works responded to clear path around the fire to prevent spreading, the chief said.

Three ambulance companies, including Riverhead and Manorville, stood by throughout the operation in case anyone needed medical treatment, Danowski said.

No injuries were reported, he said. No homes were damaged. Three firefighting vehicles sustained minor damages that were repaired on scene, the chief said.

Firefighters, who responded to the call at about 7 a.m. wrapped up operations at about 5:30 p.m., he said. “There was still a county ‘dozer in there working,” he said.

Monday morning, hot spots continued to smolder in the woods. Danowski met state forest rangers at the scene as the rangers worked to tamp down smoldering areas.

The area of Sunday’s fire is within the pine barrens region. It is heavily wooded and sparsely populated. It has no connection to public water, so there are no fire hydrants to supply fire engines with water. Fire departments need to rely on tanker trucks to bring water to the scene of operations.

Suffolk County Water Authority is currently preparing to lay water mains in the area. Construction is scheduled to begin later this year.