Jan 27, 2011

Look At The Sky





When I submit photos to Sky Watch Friday I usually opt for colorful, peaceful shots of sunrises over the Peconic Bay or sunsets above the Long Island Sound, but last Sunday afternoon our eyes were drawn upward by a rising column of smoke.  As we watched the smoke suddenly became black.  It was time to investigate.  We were on the west side of the Mattituck Inlet and knew that if the fire was on the other side it would take a long time to get there.  We ended up at the Old Mill Inn where a turntable bridge used to cross the inlet.  Directly in front of us on the east side one hundred yards away was the fire in plain view, the building no more than fifteen feet from water's edge.  The building was the Kaminski's storage barn where they stored supplies associated with their fish and lobstering business, 20 pound propane tanks among other things.  A very few tanks blew.  It could have been much worse had a full 3,000 gallon diesel fuel storage tank three feet from the building not been able to take the heat.  The Mattituck and Cutchogue Fire Departments responded very quickly and were able to save a house and several fishing vessels nearby.  I shot what I could and ended up with several interesting photos.  The sky reminded me of the Jimi Hendrix lyrics:

Look at the sky turn a hell fire red, lord
Somebody's house is burning
 down, down, down, down





























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