Brush fire chars part of county park in Melville

Firefighters from at least eight departments battled a brush fire at Melville's West Hills County Park late Saturday, authorities said.

The blaze was put out around midnight, officials said.

Traffic in the area, near Mt. Misery Road and Sweet Hollow Road, was slowed, including a nearby section of Northern State Parkway and Route 110, authorities said.

No one was reported hurt, a Melville Fire Department dispatcher said.

Melville resident James Donohue said he smelled the smoke well south of the blaze, near the Melville-Farmingdale border, as he drove home north from Copiague. On Route 110, he saw "emergency vehicles coming from everywhere."

"It smelled like a fireplace. It smelled like firewood," said Donohue, 34, a commercial real estate salesman.