Suspicious Fire Near Pipeline at Blue Mountain Reservation in Cortlandt

CORTLANDT, NY — It took about eight hours Saturday to knock down a brush fire at a Spectra Algonquin Pipeline construction site in Blue Mountain Reservation on Saturday.

The fire was reported at the county park, which spans Cortlandt and Peekskill, at 7 a.m. on Saturday.

About 7 to 10 acres of park land burned along with two pieces of construction equipment – a backhoe and a front-end loader, according to Westchester county police spokesman Kieran O'Leary.

The equipment is owned by a contractor doing work associated with the Spectra pipeline. The pipeline has already been installed in the area of the fire. The construction work being done was site remediation – restoring the wooded area back to its natural state, he said.

The area that burned was in Cortlandt off Washington Avenue. It is a hilly, wooded area used by mountain bikers and hikers.

The cause of the fire is under investigation by Westchester County Police. The fire is considered suspicious but we have not reached any conclusion about how it started or whether the incident is connected in any way to the pipeline project, he said.

The Westchester County Police Aviation Unit dumped water on the fire from above and multiple fire departments under the command of the Montrose Fire Department battled the brush fire on the ground. It took until about 3 p.m. to douse the last remaining hot spots.

The county helicopter has a device called a Bambi Bucket that can be used to fight fires from the air. The helicopter drafts water from a river, lake or any water sources and then flies over the fire and dumps the water down on to it.

The bucket holds about 180 gallons of water.

In the case of Saturday’s fire, the water was drafted from several ponds in the park. The helicopter made multiple drops during the event.

PHOTOS:

Aftermath of fire at Blue Mountain Reservation/ Kieran O'Leary

Westchester County Police Aviation Unit/ Westchester County file photo