The brush fires that broke out on Saturday in eastern Suffolk County are believed to have been sparked by embers from a family attempting to make s'mores in their Manorville backyard, the county police commissioner said. Suffolk is not pursuing any liability costs from the family, said county spokesman Michael Martino. All four fires are 100% contained, officials said. Gov. Kathy Hochul on Sunday announced an immediate "burn ban" for all of Long Island and New York City, and for parts of the Hudson Valley. The ban prohibits igniting any outdoor fires to remove brush or debris, as well any uncontained campfires or open fires for cooking. Backyard firepits and contained campfires that are less than 3 feet in height and 4 feet in length, width or diameter are allowed, as are small, contained cooking fires. The annual statewide ban on residential brush burning takes effect March 16.Robert Brodsky and John Asbury report in NEWSDAY that four separate weekend brush fires in eastern Suffolk County are believed to have been sparked by embers from a family attempting to make s'mores Saturday morning in their Manorville backyard, Police Commissioner Kevin Catalina said yesterday. The street is at the border of Center Moriches. Police are continuing to speak with witnesses and investigate tips.A family living on North Cozine Road, Catalina said, had been trying to make the gooey snack at 9:30 a.m. Saturday but gave up and went inside after attempting to light some cardboard. The fire, he said, eventually ignited, but the family was unaware."By the time they were aware of it, it was a full-blown fire, so that's when the Center Moriches Fire Department responded to put it out," Catalina said at a Monday news conference in Shirley. "But unfortunately, some of it had probably escaped already."Open burns have been prohibited on Long Island, in New York City and in six counties in the Hudson Valley regions due to the combination of dry conditions and strong winds, Gov. Kathy Hochul announced Sunday. The ban will continue through March 16, which is the start of the annual statewide ban on residential brush burning that runs from March 16 through May 14, traditionally the time when fire spread risk is at its peak. Governor Hochul declared a state of emergency in Suffolk County on Saturday as the Westhampton Pines Fire burned 400 acres of dry woodland forest and sparked a massive statewide response in eastern Suffolk County this weekend.***The Southampton High School Varsity boys basketball team meets the Mt. Sinai Mustangs in the Suffolk County Class A championship game today at 4:30pm in Farmingdale State College. The winner will represent Section XI in the NYSPHAA tournament starting with a game for the Long Island Class A championship.The Mariners are playing in their fourth straight county championship, and ninth in the past 12 years.This afternoon’s game affords the 2024-25 team to extend a century long tradition of high school hoops success.The S.H.S. gymnasium walls are draped with a multitude of championship banners for basketball titles dating back as far as 1918.***Students experiencing a major injury or other traumatic event could obtain an exemption from taking a NYS Regents exam under a regulatory change given preliminary approval yesterday by state education officials.Under new rules, school district superintendents or principals of independent schools would be empowered to grant testing exceptions to high school students faced with a "major life event," such as a critical illness or death of a family member. Requests for exemptions could come from other adults including teachers, relatives or guardians.To quality for test exemptions under the new rules, students would be required to have earned passing classroom marks in the course that included a Regents exam at the end.John...

Westhampton brush fires likely sparked by family bonfire