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Acres of burnt wetlands stretched across Oakwood Beach Monday, remnants of a massive fire that came right up to to many residents' back door steps and even engulfed an abandoned home in flames.

I guess they're waiting for someone to die. When somebody dies, this could have been a phone call that five families perished," said Anthony Puglia, an Oakwood Beach resident.

Puglia's Kissam Avenue home suffered extensive damage during Sunday's massive brush fire.

A crew was at work Monday cleaning up the mess and trying to rid the house of its smokey smell.

However, this is not the first time a fire has threatened homes in the area. The acres of phragmites that grow in the area make this and other Island neighborhoods prone to brushfires.

"They're a nightmare from hell," said Puglia.

Because the area was designated as wetlands, it is protected by the State Department of Environmental Conservation and therefore, residents are limited as to how much they can cut down the brush.

A DEC spokeswoman says if they obtain a permit from the Borough President's office, they can cut phragmites up to 50 feet from their homes.

"The flames are 40 feet high and they jump right into your house. If we were sleeping we would have all been dead because in 10 minutes the whole thing was on fire," said Phyllis Puglia.

Local elected officials toured the site Monday to survey the damage and to figure out what can be done in the future.

"Every year or so, we have extensive fires like this, so everyone is on notice. We need to do something about it. We either need to eradicate these phragmites, which are an invasive non-indigenous species, or you need to have a fire prevention police or management plan," said State Senator Andrew Lanza.

For now, the fields are burned down, and residents say they can rest a little easier until they grow back.