![“Unfortunately, and despite our warnings and advice to leave [Fire Island] while conditions allowed, many decided not only to stay but to come over to the island,” scolded Ocean Beach Mayor James Mallott in an emailed newsletter on the afternoon of Sept. 26, during the height of the nor’easter. “These decisions put themselves and their families in danger and jeopardized our first responders who had to answer calls that never should have been.”](https://www.fireislandnews.com/wp-content/uploads/2026/09/IMG_8692.jpeg?quality=51&w=1200)
“Unfortunately, and despite our warnings and advice to leave Fire Island while conditions allowed, many decided not only to stay but to come over to the island,” scolded Ocean Beach Mayor James Mallott in an emailed newsletter on the afternoon of Sept. 26, during the height of the nor’easter. “These decisions put themselves and their families in danger and jeopardized our first responders who had to answer calls that never should have been.”
The email was composed as water raged and rushed into Ocean Beach Village, while the underground drainage system went into automatic shutdown mode, as it is designed to do when the volume of incoming water becomes substantial—resulting in some of the most significant flooding since the winter of 2024.
Mallott had a point—Despite weather forecasts and announced ferry closures, some still made a point of traveling to Fire Island ahead of the storm to witness the drama of the powerful nor’easter.
This led to a water rescue at the transient marina on Friday evening, Sept. 25, when a boater slipped while tying his watercraft at approximately 6:25 p.m.
“Luckily, the Ocean Beach medic and her boyfriend were on the dock watching the sunset,” an Ocean Beach Police Department representative told Fire Island News. “He was pulled from the water without delay and declined further medical treatment.”
At Robert Moses State Park, concerns mounted Saturday afternoon when a man was seen entering the turbulent ocean surf and then disappearing from view, prompting an extensive search by Suffolk County Police and the U.S. Coast Guard, along with media coverage. The following morning, New York State Park Police announced that the man had contacted them to report that he was alive and unharmed.
Downed power lines were reported in Fair Harbor on Sunday morning, but reports of power outages have been minimal.
Currently, the only passenger ferry service offered by Fire Island Ferries is Bay Shore-bound, with a single lateral vessel making stops at Ocean Bay Park, Seaview, Ocean Beach, Dunewood, Fair Harbor, Saltaire and Kismet between 3 and 3:25 p.m.
Regular service is expected to resume on Monday morning, Sept. 28—with the exception of the community of Atlantique, where service remains suspended until further notice.
