Local Police, Fire Officials Address Orangeburg Blaze

Emergency responders in and beyond Rockland County continue to work to contain and extinguish the brush fire on Clausland Mountain in Orangeburg that spread to to cover hundreds of acres at one point Friday.

"It's very hard to determine the acreage, but it's significantly more than 50 acres (an estimate from early Friday morning)," said Rockland County Fire Coordinator Gordon Wren during a press briefing Friday afternoon at the Orangeburg Fire House. "I would say it was several hundred acres. It is from Route 303 at Greenbush Road all the way to the other side of the mountain to Tweed Blvd. It's a very large area."

At the time of the press briefing, shortly after 3 p.m., much of the area of the fire had been contained, with the focus turning to the north edge. 

"The southern division is pretty much out," Wren said. "Everything is under control on the east and west sides. The fire is still burning in the north portion of the fire, where you see the heavy smoke right now. We've taken crews from the other sectors and are concentrating on that area right now."

Rockland County Sheriff Lou Falco confirmed that antennae at the old Nike missile base on the mountain used by Rockland County for communications were threatened by the fire at one point, but firefighters were able to push it away. The fire was first reported at approximately 1 p.m. Thursday and burned overnight. Firefighters, Orangetown Police and the Rockland County Sheriff's office kept a perimeter watch around the fire overnight to ensure that it did not spread to close to any homes. Rockland County Sheriff Lou Falco said patrols around the perimeter of the fire will continue until it is completely extinguished. For updates from during the day Friday, see this report on Patch.
"Since this fire was reported yesterday afternoon, we’ve seen great cooperation, great professionalism, between the fire services and law enforcement with this incident," Orangetown Police Chief Kevin Nulty said. "It’s my understanding that no homes are in danger at this point and no homes were in danger. Fire departments will still be working on this fire for the next 24 hours and we’re hopeful for the rain Monday to finally put it out for good."


Wren said that residents nearby should also be on the lookout for flare-ups from the fire. He said fires deeper into the area are less likely to spread than those near the fringes. 

"It's safe to assume we are going to have flare-ups with the amount of perimeter involved," Wren said. "We're asking your viewers and readers to be vigilant. If they live in the area, they are going to see fires flare up in the interior. That's natural. On the edge wehre the fire was stopped, if you see a flare-up, dial 911 as quickly as possible so we can get out there and get it under control quickly."

In addition to approximately 150 firefighters from 29 departments on the ground, two helicopters were dropping water on the blaze from large buckets, one from the State Police and the other with the Westchester County Police.

Falco said two firefighters suffered minor injuries Thursday night. In both cases, sparks from the fire got into the eyes of a firefighter.

"They were triaged at the scene and taken to a local hospital just to make sure everything is okay," Falco said. "As I understand it,  they are okay."


Wren said one firefighter was taken to the hospital Friday for what they believe is smoke inhalation and exhaustion. 

Falco said he did not want to speculate regarding the cause or point of origin of the fire, though the first sightings were near TZ Rock. Wren said things could have been worse if not for relatively calm winds Friday, but dry conditions contributed to the spread of the fire. 

"The humidity is low," Wren said. "The winds weren't too bad today. It could have been a lot worse, a lot more challenging, if the winds had been stronger. The real problem is it's dry. We've had no rain. We're really in a drought right now. That's how these fires get going and burn so steadily."