Erosion imperils 4 Fire Island homes

Heavy beach erosion from recent storms has threatened to wash four oceanfront Fire Island homes out to sea, but officials said Thursday that work crews have stabilized the structures.

Suffolk County and Brookhaven Town workers and a private contractor worked since Wednesday to protect the homes from an onslaught of strong winds and heavy rain this winter that has continued in recent days.

The owners of the four seasonal homes in a private community two miles west of Cherry Grove called Point O'Woods worked with town and county officials on the erosion problem and have placed sandbags in front of their properties, said Joe Williams, Suffolk County commissioner of emergency management.

Despite a forecast of strong winds and a mix of heavy rain and snow Thursday night and into Friday, the homes appeared stable Thursday night, Williams said.

"They'll probably get some erosion and wash-over of the dunes. None of them are in danger of falling into the ocean right now," Williams said. "We don't have the wind coming out of the Northeast right now so the wave heights are really not that bad."

The houses are summer beach homes and do not appear occupied now, sources said.

Fire Island National Seashore spokeswoman Paula Valentine said it granted authorization to temporarily place sandbags in front of the homes.