Baiting Hollow house fire sends heavy smoke over North Fork neighborhood

Fire tore through a vacant Baiting Hollow home Thursday morning, sending thick smoke over the wooded community near the Long Island Sound, officials said.

The Riverhead Fire Department was dispatched at about 9:55 a.m. to 16 Woodcliff Drive, where the single-story home was engulfed in flames, according to photos posted by the department.

Gray smoke poured from the structure as crews stretched lines along the front of the house and into a charred side addition, the photos showed.

Riverhead responded with three engines, two ladder trucks, a water tanker and two support vehicles. Jamesport, Wading River and Ridge fire departments assisted, while the Riverhead Volunteer Ambulance Corps stood by. The Westhampton Beach Fire Department covered calls from Riverhead headquarters during the incident.

Crews cleared the scene at about 11:38 a.m.

Two nearby homes were spared significant damage, officials said.

One unidentified firefighter was injured, treated at the scene and released.

The cause remains under investigation by the Riverhead Town Fire Marshal’s Office.