A brush fire has been burning since around 1:10 p.m. in the area behind Erie Boulevard between Midler Avenue and Thompson Road. The Thompson Road exit of I-690 east is currently shut down.
Multiple fire crews were on scene to aid in controlling the fire.
An East Syracuse firefighter said, “It’s kind of in a no man’s land,” talking about the location of the fire. Helicopters are currently dropping water on the blaze to contain it.
A National Grid power transformer was damaged, causing outages for about 2,000 customers in East Syracuse, which was restored around 1:30 p.m.
We’ll update the story as more information becomes available.
UPDATE:
At around 1:10 p.m. Wednesday, May 6, fire crews were dispatched to a brush fire located in East Syracuse in the area behind Erie Boulevard between Midler Avenue and Thompson Road.
No structural damage to any of the businesses in the area occurred, but a National Grid power line was damaged, causing outages for about 2,000 customers in East Syracuse. Power was fully restored around 2 p.m., according to a representative from the company.
According to acting chief of the East Syracuse Fire Department, August Matt, multiple fire crews were on scene to aid in controlling the fire, bringing a total of 12 engines to fight the blaze.
At the scene on May 6, an East Syracuse firefighter said battling the blaze was difficult because it was difficult to reach with the hoses, “It’s kind of in a no man’s land,” he said.
Matt said that Air 1, a helicopter owned by the Onondaga County Sheriff’s Office, dropped six loads of water on the fire from above.
The Thompson Road exit of I-690 east was shut down while the fire was occurring. The most difficult part of controlling the fire, said Matt, was that the high winds caused the fire’s path to change directions rapidly.
Matt said it took two hours to completely extinguish the fire, and crews were gone from the scene by 5 p.m.
No cause has been determined at this time, but Matt said the conditions that led to a red flag warning being declared in the area, including high wind, low humidity and high temperatures, likely contributed to the quick-burning fire.
Hayleigh Gowans is a reporter for the Eagle Bulletin. She can be reached at [email protected].
