Massachusetts Still Battling Brush Fires as Drought Conditions Persist
Massachusetts remains under a red flag warning as multiple brush fires continue to burn across the state.
The warning issued by the National Weather Service indicates that the fires now burning are at high risk of spreading and more difficult to extinguish due to severe drought conditions.
The Massachusetts Department of Conservation & Recreation reported that since the state’s current drought started more than 500 wildfires have burned more than 1,500 acres of land — far outnumbering past fires. The state says there are currently 15 active fires across the state.
The most recent was a 415-acre fire in the Lynn Woods Reservation and there was another in the Lynn/Salem area that was reported to be 140 acres. A fire in a state forest in North Andover has grown to 128 acres. A fire in Middleton that burned 242 acres has been largely contained.
Those fires are in the eastern portion of the state. Firefighters are also working on four in western Massachusetts in Northampton, Monson, Montgomery, and Northfield.
Firefighting crews from neighboring cities and towns are helping those where the fires are burning as are firefighters from New Hampshire and Maine. A National Guard helicopter has been dropping water.
Governor Maura Healey and state and local fire officials have been warning the public to heed the high risk warnings and not burn anything outdoors. State parks have imposed burn bans as have numerous communities along with water use restrictions.
Officials have said most of the fires have been caused by humans, including by a failure to fully extinguish campfires.
“Now is not the time to burn leaves. Now is not the time to go outside and light a fire out back and sit around,” Healey said. “My ask to the public is that you do everything you can to minimize the risks.”
The governor said three firefighters have been injured.
“As the Governor said, please use common sense,” said State Fire Marshal Jon Davine. “The weather conditions in Massachusetts have left all the fuel sources outdoors bone dry. Any fire will spread quickly and it will become very difficult to control. It will burn wide and it will burn deep into the ground. Follow the local and state guidance on outdoor fires and use extra caution with anything that could throw sparks or embers, like power equipment or fireplace ashes. And if you see smoke or flames nearby, call 9-1-1 right away. The sooner we hear about a fire, the better chance we have of containing it.”
The historic fall fire season is being driven by a dry weather pattern during which the state’s rainfall has been well below average for several months.
The state is “clearly experiencing significant drought conditions,” commented Energy and Environmental Affairs Secretary Rebecca Tepper earlier this month in releasing a status report from a state drought management task force.
The most recent National Weather Service forecast does not offer hope for rain anytime soon. “No end to the dry weather pattern,” the report concludes, citing continuing dry conditions with minimum relative humidity and wind gusts up to 20 mph.
Photo: Firefighters work to put out a brush fire, Tuesday, Oct. 29, 2024, in Salem, Mass. (AP Photo/Steven Senne, File)