Over the past week, hundreds of brush fires have broken out across all six New England states. In typical New England fashion, many of them have been small, a couple acres or less, and contained quickly. With that said, several fires have grown larger and will take time to extinguish. New England doesn't always see a fall fire season. When it happens, it usually follows a summer of drought. This year it is coming with an expanding drought this fall.
These fires have been responsible for two deaths and five injuries as of Monday evening. One firefighter was tragically killed while battling Connecticut's Hawthorne Fire. Four other firefighters have been injured while battling that fire. A woman was tragically killed during a fire in Millbury, Massachusetts. A camper was injured in Vermont. Here's a look at what's going on around New England:
CONNECTICUT
Among the first fires of this stretch broke out last Monday evening in Berlin, Connecticut. The fire grew quickly and has continued to burn since. This fire has since been coined as the Hawthorne Fire. As of Monday, the fire has consumed over 120 acres of land. Crews from the Connecticut National Guard and Maine's Forestry Service have dropped hundreds of thousands of gallons of water on the fire. This is the first time since 1995 water drops have been performed on a Connecticut fire.
Connecticut's Department of Energy and Environmental Protection (DEEP) are monitoring over 50 brush fires around the state. As for the Hawthorne Fire, it may take up to a month to fully contain the blaze. Unfortunately, Connecticut has the lowest rain prospects in New England this week. A statewide burn ban remains in effect. Of active fires, DEEP is monitoring ones in Oxford and Canaan closely, along with the active response to the Hawthorne Fire.
MASSACHUSETTS
The Massachusetts Department of Fire Services (DFS) reported 47 active brush fires statewide as of Monday morning. Two Massachusetts fires have burned over 100 acres each. A fire in Salem broke out late Saturday. This fire will likely be burning for days on end, similar to the Hawthorne Fire. This fire created a large plume of smoke that became trapped near the surface Monday morning, leading to a thick haze and heavy smell of smoke around the Boston Metro area.
A fire of similar size has also been burning in Middleton, which also broke out over the weekend. This fire is also expected to be a multi-day battle. Water drops have occurred with both the Middleton and Salem fires. The Middleton fire has been contained at all. A fire in Millbury near an encampment may have claimed the life of a woman. She was found when officials arrived on scene to fight the blaze. Her death remains under investigation. An emerging fire in Canton has burned around 30 acres.
RHODE ISLAND
Rhode Island hasn't seen the level of fires that other states in New England have, but a few fires have been reported. Fires this past week have been reported in Johnston, Charlestown and Central Falls.
MAINE
The Maine Forest Service has responded to over 30 brush fire reports statewide since the weekend. The largest of these fires occurred in Buckfield. The fire in Buckfield broke out Saturday evening and burned about five acres of land. The fire has largely been contained, but hot spots were reported to have popped up throughout Monday.
NEW HAMPSHIRE
A handful of brush fires have broken out across New Hampshire since the weekend. Among the largest occurred in Sandwich, which broke out Sunday evening when an ATV caught fire and quickly spread to the nearby brush. About five acres were burned in this fire. The fire came close to a log cabin, the home was saved.
VERMONT
A few fires have also broken out across Vermont. A notable fire broke out at a camp on Sunday morning. Two camps were destroyed by the fire and the camp owner was injured. Crews have said that smoke from this fire will remain visible for days and will take time to fully extinguish. Improper disposal of ash from a wood stove was blamed for starting the fire.
A fire that broke out on Saturday afternoon in Ludlow burned just over 16 acres before firefighters were able to stop the spread. Firefighters returned to the scene Sunday morning to cut down burned trees and put out hot spots. The fire has not spread since. Vermont has implemented a two week statewide ban on burning.
UPCOMING WEATHER
A warm front will lift through New England on Tuesday night, bringing scattered showers, mainly to northern New England. A few showers may spread into southern New England, but likely not enough to put a dent in the rainfall deficit or fire risk. Another batch of light showers will be possible Thursday night into Friday. This will also be unlikely to bring a widespread, soaking rainfall. Higher temperatures and windier weather will likely return for Wednesday and Thursday, which could create additional issues.
The good news is that the 7-day rainfall outlook is no longer completely bone dry anymore. It's not much, but we'll take whatever we can get at this point. Below is the current Weather Prediction Center 7-day outlook.
CONCLUSION
Wildfires typically aren't much of an issue in New England, but they can flare up under the right circumstances. With very dry weather, falling leaves, low humidity and gusty winds recently, this past week has been perfect for fire growth. Before the fall of 2024, spring 2023 was another fire season that brought issues.
The spring of 2023 also saw a devastating wildfire across Nova Scotia that burned over 60,000 acres and destroyed hundreds of homes. So far, no property damage has been reported with the most recent fires in New England, outside of the campsites in Vermont and no evacuations have been necessary.
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