AN UNUSUALLY ACTIVE WILDFIRE SEASON IS keeping New England and northern Atlantic seaboard fire departments busy. Typical of the jobs that are pressing on the firefighters are these representative fires:
Jersey Pinelands
A fast-moving fire sprang up Saturday afternoon in the southern New Jersey pinelands and by Sunday morning had consumed over 300 acres.
Press of Atlantic City / Fogletto photo
Elaine Makatura of New Jersey’s Department of Environmental Protection said the fire was brought under control late Saturday night, but that crews were still working today using helicopters to douse flames in swampland areas.
Ten local VFD’s worked all day and night concentrating on protecting any homes that were threatened by the fire. The New Jersey state forestry service brought in 10 wildland brush trucks to help contain it. Some expected rains Sunday afternoon should help in putting it out completely.
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Attleboro, Massachusetts
Four brush fires of suspicious origin were reported within a 15-minute span Saturday afternoon. They quickly spread in the wind-whipped afternoon to burn along a strip of land several miles long. The Bristol County Fire Task Force was activated bringing seven more FD’s to the scene along with state forestry equipment. Several tankers were used to provide water in the non-hydrant area while heavy smoke brought the traffic on nearby I-95 to a crawl.
This video report from WPRI-TV Providence gives a good summary of the operation:
The most serious threat was a small group of industrial buildings, but they were effectively protected. Shortly after the fire was out, the North Attleboro lads were called out on one more mutual aid brush call and finished the night with a working house fire in their own city.
A Pawtuckett, Rhode Island, firefighter assists
at the Attleboro fire Saturday.
(Attleboro Sun Chronicle photo)
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Southern New York
A taxing forest fire started Saturday afternoon around 3 pm on Wurstboro Mountain in Sullivan County, near the New Jersey border. The fire had burned over 230 acres by Saturday night when the FD’s had it pretty well knocked down.
Mid-Hudson News
Early Sunday morning however, several hot spots flared up and the fire refreshed and grew again. They are expecting it to burn through until Monday when some rain is forecast to arrive.
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Lexington, Massachusetts
Friday was a red-flag-warning day in Boston too, when a wildfire of unknown origin ripped through the city of Lexington. It was concentrated in the East Lexington area which is very heavily populated. But that didnt’ stop it from traveling through the neighborhoods while burning over 100 acres of landscape.
FF Local 1491
The demand for fire protection rapidly grew to 5 alarms bringing more than 42 firetrucks in from the region and the Hanscom Air Force Base. Within four hours they had the fire contained and prevented it from burning any of the houses, even though the fire literally came up to the doorsteps of some. A persistent wind that constantly changed direction complicated it all the more. A tough but good job. WFXT-TV Boston filed this video report:
Local 1491
Lexington Firefighters Local 1491 has an 80-picture photo gallery HERE.
