Orange County Executive Steven M. Neuhaus Issues Executive Order Declaring State of Emergency

GOSHEN - County Executive Neuhaus today issued Executive Order No. 14 of 2024, declaring a State of Emergency in Orange County related to the Jennings Creek severe fire event.

"First and foremost, I urge all residents to remain calm," states Neuhaus. "The battle against the forest fire continues in Orange County. In the meantime, we will continue to use combined efforts from the State, County and Local resources and it will involve the occasional emergency declaration. This will allow our teams to get into the areas that need to be extinguished. We appreciate your cooperation and thank all first responders who work tirelessly to keep the public safe."

COUNTY OF ORANGE

EXECUTIVE ORDER NO. 14 OF 2024

DECLARING A STATE OF EMERGENCY IN ORANGE COUNTY

RELATED TO A SEVERE FIRE EVENT

I, Steven M. Neuhaus, County Executive of the County of Orange, State of New York, do hereby declare as an EXECUTIVE ORDER the following:

WHEREAS, the area surrounding and encompassing the Town of Warwick and the Village of Greenwood Lake, Orange County, New York, are experiencing a significant fire event, owing in part to the prolonged dry weather conditions over the course of several months creating an extremely dry vegetation and environmental condition; and\

WHEREAS, said fire event poses a real, immediate and continued danger of wildfires and fire• related hazards, and the concomitant perilous effect on the lives and safety of the Greenwood Lake and surrounding area inhabitants and others that require immediate measures to protect the lives, health and safety of the public and emergency service providers; and

WHEREAS, pursuant to Section 24 of the Executive Law of the State of New York, the County Executive of Orange County, as its Chief Executive, is authorized to proclaim a local state of emergency within any part or all of the territorial limits of the County of Orange, and in connection therewith the County Executive may promulgate local emergency orders to protect life and property or to bring the emergency situation under control; and

WHEREAS, pursuant to Section 103(4) of the General Municipal Law, the County of Orange, and all Towns, Cities and Villages therein, are authorized to forgo the competitive bidding process when conditions exist whereby circumstances affecting public buildings, public property or the life, health, or safety of the inhabitants of any such municipality require immediate action which cannot await the competitive bidding process to take place,

NOW, THEREFORE, I, Steven M. Neuhaus, as County Executive and Chief Executive of the County of Orange, New York do hereby find the public safety to be imperiled by the present and imminent conditions created by the above-referenced fire event and the resulting risk to the lives of residents, officials, rescue workers and other in the County of Orange and, consequently, to safeguard the lives, health, safety and property of the public, I do hereby declare a STATE OF EMERGENCY for the entirety of the Town of Warwick and the Village of Greenwood Lake pursuant to, inter alia, New York State Executive Law Sections 24 and 25, and request the Governor of the State ofNew York to provide assistance to the extent that this fire event is beyond the capacity of local governments to meet adequately and state assistance is necessary to supplement local efforts to save lives and to protect property, public health and safety, beginning at 5:00 p.m. this date, November 13, 2024, and continuing until such time that I declare the State of Emergency is no longer necessary or such declaration expires by law, whichever first occurs; and

I FURTHER FIND, that conditions exist which pose a threat to the public, health, safety, and environment, and due to the fact that immediate action may be required to perform emergency repairs and services, and procure goods and services to prevent loss of life and to protect the public health and safety, that the County of Orange, Town of Warwick and Village of Greenwood Lake cannot wait for the competitive bidding process to take place; and

I FURTHER ORDER, as a result of my Declaration of a State of Emergency and above findings, and during the duration of this Declaration and Order, and any extensions thereof, the following:

(X) Contracts for public work or the purchase of supplies, material, or equipment necessary to respond to the impacts of the above-noted fire event may be let or procured by the appropriate officer, board, agency or Special District of the County of Orange, allowing the piggybacking of such public work and purchases by the Town of Warwick (including any special districts), the Village of Greenwood Lake, and/or the Greenwood Lake Union Free School District, without competitive bidding or competitive offerings, pursuant to Section 103(4) of the General Municipal Law of the State of New York and the Orange County Procurement Policy, as this is a public emergency arising out of an unforeseen occurrence or condition whereby circumstances affecting public buildings; public property or the life, health, safety or property of the inhabitants of the County of Orange, which require immediate action and cannot await competitive bidding or competitive offerings.

(x) The following roadway shall be closed to public traffic:

EAST SHORE ROAD ROM 32 EDGEMERE TO THE NORTH ENTRANCE OF WOODS ROAD

and, in addition, any vehicular or pedestrian traffic shall also be prohibited in any surrounding area or areas as determined by emergency service personnel, including sheriff and police officers.

Excepted from the foregoing prohibition on travel are the following:

- Police, fire, EMS, and other emergency service providers (including those personnel actively working and traveling to/from work);

- Healthcare and social services workers (including those going to/from hospitals, nursing homes, assisted living facilities, facilities or residences to provide direct care to those in need; or medical offices to serve those in emergency need);

- Essential public employees who work to protect the public health and safety;

- Utility crews (including persons assisting such crews who are employed or contracted by utilities);

- Persons who are in need of immediate medical care in route to/from such care.

(X) THE GREENWOOD LAKE UNION FREE SCHOOL DISTRICT SHALL BE CLOSED ON THURSDAY, NOVEMBER 14, 2024 AND FRIDAY, NOVEMBER 15, 2024 (and thereafter if a superseding Executive Order is issued modifying this ORDER) WITH NO SCHOOL BUS TRANSPORTATION BEING PROVIDED, INCLUDING FOR ANY CONTRACTED BUS ROUTES.

(x) The suspension of the following local laws, ordinances, or regulations:

(i) All local weight restrictions on any County of Orange roadways and/or bridges in order to allow emergency heavy vehicles and equipment needed in furtherance of the abatement of the emergency.

Pursuant to New York Executive Law § 24(5), any person who knowingly violates this Executive Order is guilty of a class B misdemeanor.

This Executive Order does not affect any County of Orange operations for any County of Orange employees.

This Executive Order shall take effect beginning at 5:00 p.m. this date, November 13, 2024, and, pursuant to New York Executive Law § 24(3) shall be (1) signed in quadruplicate, (2) published as soon as practicable in a newspaper of general circulation in Orange County and transmitted to the radio and television media for publication and broadcast, and (3) filed within 72 hours or as soon thereafter as practicable in the (i) office of the Clerk of the County Legislature, (ii) office of the County Clerk, (iii) office of the Secretary of State, and (iv) State Office of Emergency Management within the Division of Homeland Security and Emergency Services, either directly and/or through the County of Orange Division of Emergency Management.

ORDERED this 13th day of November, 202

/s/

Hon. Steven M. Neuhaus

County Executive

For more information, contact Rebecca Sheehan, Assistant to County Executive Steven M. Neuhaus, Director of Public Information and Media Relations, at 845.291.2700 or [email protected].

To learn more about what County Executive Neuhaus is doing for Orange County, follow Orange County Government and Steven M. Neuhaus on Facebook, @Orange County NY Govt and @steve.neuhaus on Instagram, and @OCGovNY and @SNeuhausOC on X. You can also watch Neuhaus' NeuCast podcasts and Leadership Speaker Series on YouTube.

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