Neuhaus declares State of Emergency

Orange County Executive Steve Neuhaus on Wednesday declared a State of Emergency, citing the ongoing fire in the Greenwood Lake area dubbed the Jennings Creek Fire. The declaration went into effect as of 5 p.m. Wednesday, Nov. 13.

“First and foremost, I urge all residents to remain calm,” said Neuhaus. “The battle against the forest fire continues in Orange County. In the meantime, we will continue to use combined efforts from the state, county and local resources and it will involve the occasional emergency declaration. This will allow our teams to get into the areas that need to be extinguished. We appreciate your cooperation and thank all first responders who work tirelessly to keep the public safe.”

Neuhaus attributed the fire in the area of Greenwood Lake to the county’s “prolonged dry weather conditions over the course of several months.”

The executive order enacting the State of Emergency declaration authorized county municipalities to forgo the competitive bidding process when “circumstances affecting public buildings, public property or the life, health, or safety of the inhabitants of any such municipality require immediate action which cannot await the competitive bidding process to take place.”

The executive order closed East Shore Road from 32 Edgemere to the north entrance of Woods Road to public traffic, and prohibited car and pedestrian traffic “in any surrounding area or areas as determined by emergency service personnel, including sheriff and police officers,” with exceptions for emergency personnel.

Neuhaus also announced that the Greenwood Lake school district would be closed Nov. 14 and 15.