Brush fires on New York's Long Island fanned by high winds have picked up quickly. The fires were spewing thick gray smoke into the sky and closed a major highway on Saturday.

Fast-moving brush fires burned through a large swath of land on New York's Long Island on Saturday fanned by high winds, spewing thick gray smoke into the sky and prompting the evacuation of a military base and the closure of a major highway.

Firefighters in New York have knocked down a dwindling brush fire in a wooded stretch of Long Island but officials say high wind gusts could leave the region vulnerable to additional blazes