A botched attempt to make backyard s’mores caused wildfires that burned hundreds of acres on the eastern end of New York’s Long Island, area officials said Monday.
Suffolk County authorities said the fires had been fully extinguished after a volatile start to the weekend, with the flames fanned by high winds and fed by dry conditions. The blazes broke out Saturday morning, with flying embers starting a handful of smaller fires, but they all had been put out by Sunday except for a few hot spots, with full containment confirmed on Monday.
Suffolk County Police Commissioner Kevin Catalina said at a press briefing that evidence was “pointing strongly” to an accidental cause of the fires. Investigators say an unidentified person, struggling in the high winds to light a fire for s’mores in a back yard at 9:30 a.m. Saturday used pieces of cardboard, only to see the fire roar to life and overtake the entire yard.
Two dozen police detectives have been investigating additional evidence to confirm the s’mores fire as the origin. Catalina said the theory “makes perfect sense” given the southeastern direction of the winds on Saturday and the location of the subsequent fires.
New York Gov. Kathy Hochul declared a state of emergency as the fires spread on Saturday. More than 80 volunteer fire departments from across the region converged on Long Island.
One of the towns affected by the fires was Westhampton, which is generally considered to be the start of the Hamptons as travelers make the 100-mile trek east from New York City. Lined by ocean beaches, the region is known as a vacation destination, cultural province and site of mansions owned by business executives and entertainers. Clustered on the southern fork of Long Island’s East End, the Hamptons area has thousands of year-round residents but is best-known for cities like Montauk, East Hampton, Southampton and Sag Harbor, whose populations swell during the summertime.
Officials at the press briefing said they initially feared a repeat of fires that hit the same area in 1995. That disaster lasted for seven days, forcing hundreds of residential evacuations and shutting down highways and train lines.
