SECAUCUS/BROOKHAVEN (1010 WINS) -- AA brush fire less than a mile east of the Secaucus Junction rail station on Saturday temporarily shut down trains from Newark to New York City and forced the closure of part of the New Jersey Turnpike, authorities said.
New Jersey Transit rail service on the Northeast Corridor, North Jersey Coast and Midtown Direct lines was shut down between Newark and New York Penn Station from about 2:40 p.m. to 4:05 p.m., said Dan Stessel, NJ Transit spokesman.
Trains elsewhere on those lines experienced 15 to 30-minute delays, Stessel said.
Meanwhile, the eastern spur of the northbound turnpike was closed in the Secaucus area because smoke from the fire was causing poor visibility, but the western spur stayed open, said Joseph Orlando, a spokesman for the turnpike authority.
NJ Transit allowed customers to board Port Authority Trans-Hudson (PATH) trains running from Hoboken and Newark to New York Penn Station during the service interruption, Stessel said.
On Long Island, a section of the Sunrise Highway near Brookhaven was closed in both directions for about three hours Saturday because of blowing smoke from a brush fire.
The section just west of Exit 57 closed at around 3 p.m. and was used as a staging ground by firefighters from 13 departments. It reopened at about 6 p.m.
No one was injured.
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