Riverhead Supervisor Tim Hubbard today signed an executive order declaring a state of emergency in the Town of Riverhead regarding existing and expected fire weather conditions that are conducive to rapid spread of wildfires. forest.

The supervisor has ordered that all outdoor recreational fires and burning activities be prohibited. These include open burning, bonfires, beach fires and the use of fire pits. The ban will continue until it expires or until any extension of the order expires.

The supervisor also ordered that “city staff coordinate and utilize other municipal agencies and subdivisions as necessary, including volunteer fire departments and ambulance services, to protect the health, safety and welfare be part of the public.

A red flag warning is in effect again SaturdayNovember 16, from 7 a.m. to 6 p.m. A red alarm signal is issued when critical fire weather conditions exist, including dry fuels, low relative humidity and strong winds. Northwest winds 10 to 20 mph with gusts up to 30 mph and relative humidity as low as 25% are expected Saturday.

New York State has banned outdoor burning until November 30.

Saturday’s red flag warning is the eighth issued for the Long Island area since October 25.

The long period of unusually dry weather in the region increases the risk of fires spreading. Since Sept. 1, less than an inch of rain has fallen in eastern Suffolk, according to data recorded by the National Weather Service in Upton. Normal precipitation during this period is close to 10 inches (9.97 inches) according to weather service data.

The exceptionally dry period coincides with the arrival of fall, when dry, dead leaves cover the ground, creating a bed of what firefighters call “dry fuels” in the woods.

Several brush fires have broken out in Riverhead over the past 10 days, starting with a small fire in a bamboo grove near Harrison Avenue a week ago, believed to have been started by a campfire.

Shortly after midnight Saturday morning, a large brush fire broke out on a forested bluff in Baiting Hollow on the east side of Friar’s Head Golf Course. Eighteen fire departments responded with 125 personnel and numerous brush cutters, tankers and engines to fight the wind-driven fire throughout the night until mid-morning. The fire burned approximately 20 acres of woods. A firefighter was taken to the hospital for treatment of smoke inhalation.

MORE COVERAGE: Firefighters from 18 departments battle major bushfire on LI Sound at Baiting Hollow

The fire on the bluff reignited Saturday evening, forcing firefighters from Riverhead and neighboring districts to return to the scene to put out the flames.

MORE COVERAGE: Firefighters returned to the scene of a previous bushfire at Baiting Hollow this evening, putting out the blaze.

On Sunday, new brush fires broke out, this time in the woods south of Pulaski Street, north of the train tracks, in the area of ​​a homeless encampment. While Riverhead firefighters were battling this fire, a second alarm was sounded for a brush fire at the Calverton Shooting Range off Nugent Drive.

MORE COVERAGE: New bushfires burn in Riverhead on Sunday

On Tuesday afternoon, Riverhead firefighters were called back to the woods south of Pulaski Street to mitigate hot spots at the scene of Sunday’s fire, which began to flare due to wind.