1 Month After LI Brush Fires, S'Mores 'Not Conclusively' Cause: Town

WESTHAMPTON, NY — One month after fierce brush fires burned in Westhampton, the cause of the blaze is "undetermined" — despite initial speculation that the incident may have started with s'mores.

Southampton Town Public Safety & Emergency Management Administrator Ryan Murphy told Patch Wednesday: "Reports are still being finalized, but the preliminary findings are that the cause of the fire is 'undetermined' at this time. There are multiple possibilities and factors that were unable to be conclusively ruled out during the investigation and analysis of findings."

He added: "Due to the inability to rule out certain things, there are multiple possibilities that could exist. Some may be more or less likely than others, but without being able to narrow down to one cause, we are obligated to issue an 'undetermined' cause at this time."

When asked about the s'mores explanation — that a family making s'mores in their backyard may have possibly sparked the blaze — Murphy said: "The s'mores theory was one of the included theories examined by us, but we did not find that it was conclusively the cause. There are actually findings that somewhat work against the s'mores theory."

Other things considered, Murphy said, were a "heat source from a vehicle on the side of the road in an area; refraction of light to cause heating of grassy material; nefarious activities, etc. We were able to discount certain theories and others were unable to be ruled out."

Murphy concluded: "I think one general statement that can be made is that the s'mores theory that was first mentioned publicly seems to indicate that there was one fire location as the source for all of the other locations. Our findings do not support that — and seem to indicate more than one fire. Separate fires."

As of Monday, March 10 at 6 p.m. Westhampton Beach Fire Department Chief Lawrence Saccente deemed the brush fire originating on Sunrise Highway in Westhampton Beach — now known as the Westhampton Pines Fire — to be "fully contained and extinguished."

All local, county and state firefighting units and assets had completed their respective tasks, he said.

"Once again, the Westhampton Beach Fire Department would like to thank all of those agencies, organizations and community members who assisted and/or supported us in bringing this incident under control. We are grateful to them all," Saccente said.

The raging brush fires in Westhampton were likely started by people trying to make s'mores in their backyard, police announced on March 10.

According to Suffolk County police, residents of a home on North Cozine Road in Manorville attempted to start a fire to make s'mores at about 9:30 a.m. on March 8 and were unable to get it lit due to the wind; they put cardboard on it in a continued attempt to ignite, which was unsuccessful.
At about 10:15 a.m., 911 was called because the backyard was on fire from the prior fire attempt, police said. The Center Moriches Fire Department extinguished the fire, police said.

Detectives believe embers from that fire had unknowingly spread, police said.

At 12:57 p.m., a fire was reported on the south side of Sunrise Highway, approximately 1/8 of a mile away from the original location, police said. Within a short time, additional fires were reported on Chapman Boulevard and Route 111, police said.

Detectives believe the origin of these fires stemmed from the initial backyard fire on North Cozine Road, police said.

"It’s believed strong winds spurred additional fires from embers leading to the brush fires. Police are continuing to speak with witnesses and investigate tips," Suffolk County Police said, adding that the cause of the fires had preliminarily been ruled accidental.

Southampton Town Supervisor Maria Moore later said that despite the s'mores speculation, the cause of the fire was still under investigation.

Suffolk County Executive Ed Romaine said the fire had encompassed 600 to 700 acres and brought back memories of the 1995 Pine Barrens fires that blazed for more than a week. Those fires, however, jumped the Sunrise Highway — something the most recent blaze did not do and for that, Romaine credited the 90 fire and EMT departments, all volunteers, who'd turned out in force to prevent the spread of the fire.

"We have so much gratitude," he said. Firefighters worked throughout the night, he said.
Two firefighters were injured, one with burns to the face, but both were home recovering, Romaine said.

Westhampton Beach Fire Department 2nd Assistant Chief Lewis Scott said, of two commercial buildings damaged, one sustained "significant" damage and the other was "pretty much fully destroyed."

Brookhaven Town Supervisor Dan Panico said if the winds had headed southwest, the fires could have spread toward populated areas with homes and businesses. "It would have been a very different fire," he said.

The downed trees in the area "fed the fire," Romaine said.

Romaine also noted that so often, people are "so focused on the issues" confronting the nation, they forget that in times of crisis, "we can come together."

When the fires broke out, Romaine said he had calls from both sides of the political aisle, including outreach from President Donald Trump, Gov. Kathy Hochul, Nassau County Executive Bruce Blakeman, and New York City Mayor Eric Adams.

The results, Romaine said, "show us we can do it, if we work together."

Rep. Nick LaLota added: "What a difference a day makes." LaLota said as the fires raged, "the nation was looking at us," with calls coming in from across the country. He, too, said the efforts crossed all party lines as all united to extinguish the blaze; he credited the firefighters and response agencies.

Suffolk County Police Commissioner Kevin Catalina said on Sunday, March 9 that 25 detectives were investigating the cause of the blaze. He said the detectives were investigating every 911 call and utilizing drones in the effort.

When asked if that fact that there were four separate fires that broke out at around the same time could indicate arson, Catalina said the high winds could have caused the fire to spread. He added, though, that all avenues were being investigated.

Hochul and Moore both declared state of emergencies in response to the brush fires.

Romaine, at a press event in Westhampton Beach Saturday, March 8, thanked all fire departments as well as elected officials across Long Island and the state who responded.

High winds whipped the area that day, contributing to the fire's rapid spread; Long Island was under a wind advisory until 6 p.m. with gusts of up to 50 miles per hour forecast.

East End Hospice expressed gratitude that their building was spared.

This week, Long Island eateries came together for a chicken wing fundraiser to thank all who responded to the massive blaze.