Backyard S’mores Spark Wildfires on Long Island

MANORVILLE, New York — A series of wildfires that swept through parts of Long Island over the weekend were sparked by a resident attempting to make s’mores in their backyard, authorities said on Monday.

Suffolk County Police Commissioner Kevin Catalina reported that the flames ignited around 9:30 a.m. ET Saturday when the individual used cardboard to start a fire. Despite initial struggles to ignite the fire due to high winds, the flames rapidly spread, engulfing the backyard.

“The individual making s’mores was unable to get the fire lit due to the winds, but they used cardboard to initially light that fire,” Catalina said during a press conference. The fire, which was extinguished by 10:30 a.m., inadvertently sent embers flying about an eighth of a mile southeast, sparking additional fires. By early afternoon, at least four separate fires were reported due to the wind’s influence.

Investigators are examining the rapid spread of the fires, with strong winds of up to 45 mph carrying embers from the initial location in Manorville to other areas including Eastport and Westhampton. “All of those fires are in a direct line with the strong northwest wind that was blowing that day. It is believed that the embers from each fire traveled and continuously started more fires,” Catalina noted.

The wildfires burned approximately 600 acres of land and prompted Governor Kathy Hochul to issue a state of emergency. Two commercial structures suffered damage, with one declared “fairly destroyed” and the other significantly impacted, officials reported.

Suffolk County Executive Edward P. Romaine confirmed that the fires were now 100% contained, although firefighters will remain on-site for several days to monitor for any potential flare-ups. Two volunteer firefighters were injured in the firefighting efforts, one was airlifted with second-degree burns to the face, while another suffered a non-life-threatening head injury.

The firefighting response included over 600 personnel from 80 volunteer departments across Suffolk County. Firefighters battled the blazes, making them visible from as far away as Connecticut.

“Without the combined efforts of everyone involved, we would not have been able to stop this fire. This was a fire that could have been far more serious than it was,” Romaine said.

Due to the dry conditions that exacerbated the fire situation, Governor Hochul implemented an immediate burn ban for Long Island. This ban prohibits most types of outside burning, including campfires and cooking fires. “Make sure that you are complying with that burn ban. Make sure that we are really minimizing our risk of fire as we continue to see high winds, relatively low humidity, and other conditions that make this region a little bit more prone to the fire risk,” Amanda Lefton, acting commissioner of the New York State Department of Environmental Conservation, said.

Authorities indicated that the investigation into the fire’s cause is still ongoing, with 25 arson investigators actively working to confirm the origins of the blazes. Catalina indicated that the preliminary evidence suggests an accidental cause, stating, “Our investigation is pointing strongly toward an accidental origin for Saturday’s fires.”