It is suspected that a New York resident s’mores in his backyard accidentally lit a series of forest fires during the weekend that swept hundreds of acres in the Pine Barrens region of Long Island, the authorities said on Monday.
Suffolk County Police Commissioner Kevin Catalina said the “operational theory” is that a fire began around 9:30 am et on Saturday when a resident used cardboard to start a fire to make s’mores, a preparation that includes roasted marshmallows and intercalated chocolate between Graham cookies.
“The individual who made s’mores could not turn on the fire due to the winds, but used initially cardboard to light that fire,” Catalina said during a press conference on Monday. “The person later discovers that the fire turns on in the backyard area and everything rises on fire.”
A rescue helicopter collects water in Wild Wood Lake, March 8, 2025, in Westhampton, New York.
Andrew Theodorakis/Getty Images
Catalina said the initial fire was extinguished at 10:30 am, but the investigators believe that Embers blew around an eighth mile to the southeast of the s’mores fire and began a second fire just before the 1 PM in the Manorville community of the Suffolk County.
The winds of the northwest of up to 45 mph quickly extended embers from Manorville, lighting a fire in Eastport and another fire in the Pine Barrens region publicly protected from West Hampton, according to Catalina.
“Initially it was reported that there were four separate fires, or was reported at the same time,” said Catalina. “All those fires are in a direct line with the strong northwest wind that blew that day. And it is believed that the embers of each fire traveled and began continuously more fires. So that is the operational theory at this time.”
Smoke Obound of Fires in Long Island in New York, March 8, 2025, seen from Southampton, NY
Andrew Tallon/AP
Catalina said the department has 25 fire investigators caused by the fire to determine the exact cause of the fire, but added: “Until now, our investigation strongly points to an accidental origin for Saturday fires.”
Combined fires burned around 600 acres of wild land and took New York Governor Kathy Hochul to declare an emergency state. At least two commercial structures were damaged, authorities said.
Suffolk County Executive Edward P. Romaine said on Monday that two volunteer firefighters were injured fighting the flames on Saturday, and one was transferred by plane to the Stony Brook hospital in Stony Brook with second degree burns in the face. The other hospitalized firefighter suffered a non -potentially deadly head injury, Romaine said.
Firefighters gather around the rescue units while turning off fires, on March 8, 2025, in Westhampton, New York.
Andrew Theodorakis/Getty Images
The fires in Suffolk County are “100% content,” said Amanda Lefton, an interim commissioner of the Environmental Conservation Department of the State of New York. Firefighters will remain on the scene in the next few days to prevent specific fires on, Lefton said.
Romaine said that at a time during Saturday’s flames, firefighters feared that the fire will jump and spread to the most populated communities in Suffolk County.
He said the fire was fed by hundreds of dead pines in the Pine Barrens region.
“Without the combined efforts of all involved, we would not have been able to stop this fire,” Romaine said. “This was a fire that could have been much more serious than it was.”
More than 600 firefighters from 80 Fire Departments of the 80 Volunteers of Suffolk responded to the fire, fighting against the flames and the visible smoke from as far as Connecticut, Romaine said.
