Fire Island Under Voluntary Evacuation Order As Henri Approaches

BAY SHORE, NY — Suffolk County officials are advising residents on Fire Island National Seashore to leave their homes for emergency shelters that have been set up as Henri barrels up the coast bringing the possibility of making landfall as a Category 1 Hurricane — the first one to hit since Gloria in 1985.

In a press briefing in Bay Shore on Saturday, County Executive Steve Bellone said that in conversations with the supervisors of the towns of Brookhaven and Islip and the mayors from Fire Island, there was a consensus "about the importance of people evacuating Fire Island." There is only a "voluntary evacuation order," Bellone said, adding that ferry service to the barrier island will be stopped, but county officials are still working to get people off the island before Sunday.

It's not clear what kind of damage the storm may bring, said Bellone, adding that “it's important” for residents and visitors to Fire Island to understand that if they do not leave the island, they may be stuck in difficult, if not dangerous conditions.

"For their own safety, and so that emergency personnel can do their work, we are urging people to come off the island," he said, adding, "We do not know — as I said —what the storm will bring tomorrow, and the most important thing is that we want people to be safe. We want people to be protected, that is the most important thing."

Shelters are opening in the mainland Saturday night in conjunction with the American Red Cross at locations such as the Suffolk County Fire Academy in Yaphank, where there will be a pet-friendly shelter, as well as Sachem High School East in Farmingville, Riverhead High School, and Brentwood High School.

Service for the Cross Sound Ferry and Suffolk County Transit busses will be canceled on Sunday. The county's campgrounds east of Smith Point County Park in Shirley will be closed affecting about 1,000 reservations county-wide. The county's beaches will also be closed at dusk on Saturday and will remain closed on Sunday.

The storm surge is predicted to come in as high as five feet in some parts of the county and there is the potential for wind gusts of up to 74mph, so flooding and power outages can be expected, Bellone said. People who live in low-lying areas are advised to move their vehicles to higher ground, and residents in general are advised to remove items from their yard that could become projectiles due to high winds.

Suffolk police will have humvees that will enable them to reach residents who are stranded in their homes, Bellone said.

In the county's latest conversations with the National Weather Service, it is likely that the storm will hit Suffolk as a Category One Hurricane, rather than a tropical storm, he said.

"In either case, whether it's a Category One Hurricane or a Tropical Storm, this storm is significant, and potentially dangerous, and is likely to be really impactful in a variety of ways," he said.