Backyard s’mores believed to be the origin of Long Island fires, investigators say

By Michelle Watson, Chris Boyette and Maria Aguilar Prieto, CNN

(CNN) — Wind-driven brush fires that burned on New York’s Long Island over the weekend, injuring two firefighters and sending large smoke plumes into the air, appear to have been started by people making s’mores in their backyard, officials said.

The fires are believed to have been accidental, Suffolk County Police Commissioner Kevin Catalina said during a Monday news conference.

Investigators believe the initial backyard blaze started when a Long Island resident used cardboard to ignite a fire to make s’mores and it spread quickly. The initial fire was extinguished by 10:30 a.m. but officials believe windblown embers sparked the three subsequent fires southeast of the residence.

“If you remember that day, the wind was blowing very strongly from the northwest, so that path makes perfect sense,” Catalina said. “That is the operating theory right now.”

The fires burned through about 600 acres before firefighters gained control Sunday, according to The Associated Press. New York state typically sees about 1,400 acres burned annually by wildfires, according to the governor’s office.

More than two dozen detectives have been looking into how the fires started and are expected to conclude their investigation later Monday.

“We want to interview every 911 call, we want to run down every CrimeStoppers lead just to rule every possibility out, but we feel very, very strongly that this is an accidental fire,” Catalina said.

The fires have been 100% contained with a hard line, Amanda Lefton, DEC Commissioner, said Monday at the news conference. Officials will continue to patrol and address hot spots as they come up.

As the investigation began, officials said they were concerned heavy winds Sunday could cause the fire to reignite. But the skies were calm as of early Monday morning.

Suffolk County executive Ed Romaine said he received numerous calls from officials looking to help him battle the multiple brush fires that erupted.

“Got a call from the White House, got a call from the governor, from Sen. Schumer, from my neighboring county, Nassau County, and from Mayor Adams in New York City … I’ve got to tell you, impressive,” Romaine told CNN’s Fredricka Whitfield on Sunday.

Fire crews in Suffolk County contended with strong winds as they responded to at least four separate brush fires that began Saturday afternoon and quickly spread, Suffolk County Fire Coordinator Rudy Sunderman said Sunday.

No residents were in the fire’s direct path, but two firefighters were injured and at least two structures burned, according to Sunderman.

One of the firefighters suffered second-degree burns to the face, according to Romaine. Both firefighters have been treated at local hospitals and released, Sunderman said.

Wind gusts in Westhampton topped 40 mph Saturday and 30 mph Sunday. Winds quieted heading into Monday and are forecast to reach up to 13 mph before decreasing for the rest of the week.

Governor declares state of emergency, issues burn ban

Amid Sunday’s strong winds, New York Gov. Kathy Hochul issued a burn ban “across Long Island, New York City, and parts of the Hudson Valley” to guard against additional flames. Those who violate the ban could face a fine of $500 for a first offense, Hochul’s office said.

Hochul declared a state of emergency a day earlier, telling CNN’s Jessica Dean, “This could be a multi-day event.”

The fires burned in a nature preserve, but “it would not take much for the fires to jump outside that area and head toward populated areas,” Hochul warned.

“All those images of what happened in the Palisades are so front and center in our minds,” the governor said, recalling the deadly wildfires that devastated California this year. “We need to be proactive, preventative and try to stop the worst from occurring with all the power that we have and that’s exactly what we’re doing.”

Hochul said 80 agencies and firefighting crews were helping with Suffolk County’s response to the brush fires, including from the state transportation and fire prevention departments.

The governor told CNN she’s relying on state funds to respond to the brush fires and “not counting on the federal government” amid spending cuts.

The fires burned a structure near the Francis S. Gabreski Airport, where personnel were evacuated as a precautionary measure starting Saturday around 1:45 p.m., a spokesman told the AP in a statement.

“Our biggest problem is this wind…it’s driving this fire,” Romaine said at a Saturday news conference, pulling off his hat so it wouldn’t blow away.

The fires evoked memories of the 1995 Sunrise Fire that burned through more than 5,000 acres of the Pine Barrens nature preserve and forced hundreds from their homes, according to the Long Island Pine Barrens Society.

“We are in this together and that’s why this is not going to become the fire of ’95 because the people that stand behind me, but also the people right now who are bravely battling this blaze,” Brookhaven town supervisor Dan Panico said during a news conference.

Entire neighborhoods engulfed in smoke

Around 1 p.m. Saturday, Suffolk County resident Lauren Stiles said her family began to smell smoke inside their home. Looking out the window, they then realized their entire neighborhood had been engulfed in smoke.

They couldn’t figure out where the smoke was coming from, so they decided to drive around to investigate. To get a better view, Stiles’ family headed north on County Route 51 and stopped at a sod farm in Eastport.

That’s when they realized their neighborhood wasn’t the only one enveloped by smoke.
“As I was shooting video, I didn’t realize I captured at least three separate smoke plumes because I only noticed two when filming,” Stiles told CNN.

Stiles expressed her gratitude for volunteer firefighters, who run nearly all the 179 fire departments on the island, according to the governor.

“We are very grateful to Long Island’s volunteer firefighters who keep our communities safe,” Stiles said.

This story has been updated with additional information.

Correction: An earlier version of this story gave an incorrect location for a sod farm in Long Island. The farm is in Eastport.

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CNN’s Sarah Dewberry, Gloria Pazmino, Maria Aguilar Prieto, Robert Shackelford and Lex Harvey contributed to this report.