Southern pine beetles wreaking havoc on trees in Manorville
Some are concerned about what would happen if a fire broke out in Manorville, where there are thousands of dead trees, following the weekend fires in the Center Moriches and Westhampton areas.
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Dead tree after dead tree.
That’s what you’ll see if you drive along North Street in Manorville.
The trees were destroyed by the Southern pine beetle.
“As far as you can see, it’s dead trees,” said resident and firefighter Eric Weissbard.
He said the total is in the thousands.
The recent fires have stoked fears about what could and would happen if fire arrived in the Manorville woods.
“Everything on the ground is going to burn. Dead trees obviously are more dry, they’re going to burn quicker,” he said.
Weissbard said that getting over the debris with trucks is a serious challenge the firefighters would face.
There is no easy solution. Tree removal is expensive. Arborist Evan Dackow said trees can be treated if you can get to them in time, but in the case of a large expanse of trees, this isn’t practical.
