Update: Orangeburg Blaze Could Continue into Saturday

Update, 5:54 p.m.:
View a video of emergency responders providing an update on the fire here.
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Update, 2 p.m.

Orangeburg Fire Commissioner Joe Sassano said approximately 120 firefighters from 29 departments in New Jersey, Westchester county and Rockland County were fighting the brush fire on Clausland Mountain in Orangeburg as of 1:45 p.m. Friday.

"We’ve got it pretty much contained on the southeast side," Sassano said. "We’re focusing on the northwest corner here. In the next hour or so, they will retreat back to the roads and just deluge it with the helicopters to try to knock it down.

"We had some concerns last night, but we did not have a fast-spreading fire like you would in California, jumping trees and jumping roads," Sassone said."

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Original story:

Firefighters from more than a dozen departments in Rockland County were working in a perimeter around the brush fire that continues to burn on Clausland Mountain in Orangeburg as of 9:45 a.m. Friday morning.

"Right now we are waiting for a helicopter to take an aerial view of what we have going on so we can figure out how to handle it," said Joe Sassano, a Commissioner and 30-year member of the Orangeburg Fire Department."We have firefighters surrounding the perimeter of the fire. We're waiting to find out a strategy."

The fire started at approximately 1 p.m. Thursday and spread quickly due to windy conditions and the large amount of leaves and trees for it to feed on. At least 15 volunteer fire departments responded Thursday, though all personnel were pulled back overnight for safety reasons. Helicopters from West Point Military Academy and Westchester County Police Aviation dropped water on the blaze to try to put it later in the day. Read more in this report on Patch. 

The fire spread close enough to threaten homes overlooking the Hudson River early Friday morning, but so far there are no reports of injuries or homes damaged.

"It did encroach on some people's property lines, but never actually put their homes in jeopardy," Sassano said. "It's like any other fire. It's going to spread to seek fuel, but it's not spreading to the point where people are in jeopardy or there is a call for evacuations."

New City Fire Chief Kenny Flynn shared photos of the fire taken overnight from Tappan Zee High School. 

Briarcliff Manor Police said in an alert this morning that the brush fire is bringing "an odor of smoke in the air" around the village.

Village Manager Philip Zegarelli added in his Friday update that locals have been calling in about the condition.

"You may also notice a smoky haze in the air," police said. "We are aware and monitoring the situation."