Controlled burn on East End to keep fire from sparking
A controlled burn of trees killed by the invasive Southern Pine beetle on the East End is about keeping people safe, town officials say.
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A controlled burn on the East End on Friday was about keeping a fire from starting.
East Hampton Deputy Town Supervisor David Lys spoke to News 12 on Saturday about the controlled burn in Napeague State Park.
Lys said the Town of East Hampton worked with New York State Parks and the Department of Environmental Conservation to reduce fire risk.
More than 70 piles of cut down trees, killed by the invasive southern pine beetle, were burned Friday at the state park in Amagansett.
Lys said the controlled burn will hopefully keep people safe.
"The amount of fire load that is on the ground would have made it tremendously difficult for our fire districts and our captains to be able to get into a fire if it did happen. So by reducing the fire load, it allows for greater attacks by our fire district if there is a non-controlled fire, but also for regeneration of the forests," Lys explained.
He added that Montauk residents say after the wildfires on Maui, Hawaii in 2023, they're particularly worried about fire, given that there's one way in and one way out of Montauk.
Lys said there will be more controlled burns.
According to the NYS Parks, who shared photos with News 12 of the controlled burn, over5,000 trees were taken down this past winter. The department also cut down several thousand trees prior to this past winter.
Lys said town residents will be notified when more controlled burns are scheduled.
