Newsday (Suffolk Edition) from Melville, New York • 27

A27 Fire Ravages 2000 Acres FIRE from Page A4 'tf Coping Tips Droughts are not uncommon on Long Island according to Oomeli Cooperative Extension of Nassau County Here are some tips for helping lawns and gardens vive during a dry spefl: Water lawns and gardens dur-L ing cooler hours such as early morning or near sunset to avoid evaporation Lawns need only an inch of water per week to survive This is easily measured by placing an I empty tuna fish can near your sprinkler when tfie can is fufl your lawn has had enough water Clay soil holds water longer but I takes longer to wet than sandy i soil Place sprinklers where water just the lawn or the garden and not the sidewalk or the street if Spread mulch around trees bushes and plants Mulch keeps 1 water from evaporating and also keeps weeds under control The best mulches are made from a wood chips bark gravel and stone For watering trees dal soaker hose that delivers water to the tree's roots Spiral the hose starting a foot or two from the bunk and continue until 2 you are beyond the driptine or outer foliage Depending on soil I' texture water at very low pres- sure for two to three hours once a week or once every two weeks NwriyJolui CorraM Jr Yaphank firefighter Stacy Accardi left takes a break from battling the blaze where even the pine needles kept bursting into flames er to residences black smoke billowing up into the sky Periodically flames could be seen shooting up as high as 100 feet from the command center established at the edge Authorities began conducting voluntary evacuations as a precaution about 1 pm starting with 30 to 35 houses on portions of Ridge and Whiskey Roads including the Ridge Rest Home an adult home with 53 mostly elderly residents Most of the evacuees were taken to Longwood Junior High School But about 3 pm officials announced that the fire had reached within 100 yards of some evacuated homes on Ridge Road near Whiskey Road A development on the westernmost section of Woodbridge Drive was also a concern and evacuation procedures had begun said Bie A few hours later Park Ranger David Meade said 1000 people living on portions of Ridge Wading River Hollow Raynor and Whiskey Roads had been evacuated Residents of the Leisure Village and Conventry Manor complexes were given approval to return to their homes around 8:30 pm Officials said they expected all evacuees to be able to return to their homes during the evening Above the woods just in front of Jim and Deborah home on Ridge Road a pillar of smoke towered thousands of feet into the air Soot darkened the sky and the clouded disk of the sun cast an eerie red light over residents preparing to evacuate The smell of fire was everywhere wife called me at work in Manhattan and said we might have to said Jim Linker Deborah parents had come with a van to help pack up All along Ridge Road anxious residents held cell phones standing beside their packed and ready cars Fire and police vehicles streaked continually up and down the road Behind Marty house seven horses whinnied nervously Neighbors who had already left their homes had left their horses in stable But with Flfeischman preparing to leave another neighbor was planning to come with a horse trailer to take the animals to safety taking all the pictures and slides from over the he Baid standing next to his car else is covered by Fleisch-man watched the dark cloud above the Nmdv A Parched Land perimeter of the preserve shooting in hundreds of gallons of water attempting to soak the area Also bulldozers were brought in to clear out paths of vegetation in an effort to form a boundary line where the fire could not cross Davis drove one stump jumper into the woods where a crew of five hosed down burning timber and brush along the way into the heart of the preserve Davis a Yaphank fire commissioner simply mowed down pine trees in his way as he steered toward fire Along the way row upon row of black timber could bie seen At points the smoke and ash became so intense it was difficult to see but Davis plowed ahead as firefighters on the open back of the truck aimed their water hoses Four firefighters suffered minor injuries including a broken arm and wrist and smoke inhalation said Fishier Other firefighters suffering heat exhaustion were taken to hospitals said Richard Darmody a firefighter for Yaphank with 27 years of experience just keep going around and in the stump jumper putting out fires Stacy Accardi a Yaphank firefighter with six experience Baid is bad very The pine needles she said just keep erupting into flames Despite being fortified with steel planks and beams that allow stump jumpers to plow over the pine trees occasionally they get stuck The crew on truck battled a 15-foot wall of fire that was dosing in on a disabled stump jumper from Westhampton Beach The truck got stuck over a tree that was too large for it to mow down Firefighters used a chain saw to cut it down go in and give it said Davis do what you -David Defer contributed to this story tree line place is tinder dry" Meade said there were active of the fire about 5:30 pm One was on the southeastern portion of the 5200-acre conservation area between Wading River Hollow and Ridge Roads and the other was south between Currans and Wading River Hollow Roads The spread caused Rocky Bie to shake his head did jump Whiskey Road which we want it to do The wind is causing it to jump the road It's up in the Firefighters have been at the scene since 3:15 pm Monday when they were called to extinguish a second brush fire but the one they still had not gotten a handle on continued to rage throughout the day Bie said a fire that erupted about 10:45 am Monday was doused within an hour The arsenal included 38 stump jumpers which are 2 Vi-ton government-surplus trucks converted into fire vehicles that crash through the pine trees and into the forest a DEC helicopter equipped with a 500-gallon bucket filled with water from a nearby lake -used-to douse hot spots foam trucks scores of engines lined along the other-day watering restrictions in Nassau County Humphrey said SoQje water districts in Suffolk also have imposed watering restrictions William Sanok an agricultural expert at the Cornell Cooperative Extension of Suffolk County in Riverimgd' said that most farmers have been irrigating since May had -a decent rain since on the East End things that are suffering most are pumpkins cucumbers and Sanok said Most East End fanners irrigate he added Indeed Schmitt said he preferred a dry summer which can be alleviated with irrigation to a wet season that be controlled and washes away fertilizer rather have a dry year than a wet Schmitt course we -need rain no doubt about DRY from Page A4 forecast goes" Hayes said not good news for homeowners whose plants and trees may already be under stress said Alice Anne Hum-' phrey of Cornell Cooperative Extension of Nassau County Without watering some lawns are turning brown and strawlike although most will recover once they are watered is third summer drought in a row and really affecting plants especially trees that were defoliated by the gypsy she Baid Some trees are responding by changing color and dropping their leaves giving some areas an early fall look Humphrey said plant loses most of its water through its leaves When it get enough water it drops leaves to reduce water Watering is complicated by every- NEWSOAY WEDNESDAY AUGUST 23 1995.