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What caused the Long Island brush fires? Someone cooking s’mores for breakfast may have been responsible; here's how
Suffolk County Police Commissioner Kevin Catalina said that detectives traced the cause of the brush fires to a home in Manorville.
Brush fires that wreaked havoc across Long Island over the weekend reportedly may have been caused by someone trying to cook s’mores for breakfast. Officials said that residents north of Sunrise Highway in Manorville attempted to start a fire in their backyard around 9 am on Saturday, March 8, to cook up the treat, even though heavy winds were blowing, the New York Post reported.
Suffolk County Police Commissioner Kevin Catalina said that detectives traced the cause to a home in Manorville. What sparked the blaze may have been a morning attempt to make the campfire dessert of toasted marshmallow and chocolate between graham crackers, Fortune reported.
‘The backyard area all goes up in fire’
The gusty conditions made it difficult for the person to get started, so they tried to light up a piece of cardboard. “The individuals making the s’mores were unable to get the fire lit due to the winds, but they used cardboard to initially light that fire,” Catalina said at a news conference. “That person subsequently discovers that the fire does ignite, and the backyard area all goes up in fire.”
The blaze was successfully knocked down within an hour. However, Catalina added that even though the fire was extinguished, three other fires were sparked south of Sunrise Highway close to 1 pm by the “subsequent fires started as a result of that wind driving embers.” The fires initially tore eastbound into Long Island’s Pine Barrens and Westhampton in Suffolk County through Sunday, March 9. Emergency responders from over 90 fire departments and EMS crews eventually managed to knock down the blaze.
The flames reportedly spread to 2 miles long and 2.5 miles wide. The winds made the blaze spread quickly, with at least one commercial building getting destroyed, and another damaged. Two fire personnel battling the flames were injured, but eventually released from area hospitals, according to officials.
