Large brush fire burns 9 acres in Gloucester
GLOUCESTER – A brush fire burned at least nine acres in Gloucester Monday.
Huge flames and smoke were shooting out of a wooded area near Riverview Road in the Poles Hill neighborhood starting around 10:45 a.m.
Dry and windy conditions made the situation difficult for firefighters in an area that is not easy to access. It took about seven hours for most of the fire to be contained.
"We have lived here for 15 years, and we've never had an issue like this before," said resident Richard Giordano.
Firefighters say this drought has made wildfires quick to flare up and hard to shut down. "We've had 159 in the month of July, and we've had 40 just in the last seven days," said Massachusetts DCR Chief Fire Warden David Celino.
Celino says this drought has amplified that risk, making fires start faster, last longer and leave more devastation.
"What is unique about this year is for us to go into this drought as quickly as we did, to have the fuel conditions dry out as rapidly as they have and now fires are instantly burning into the ground as much as a foot or a foot and a half," Celino said.
"Comments from the state forestry guys that were here today were that these were some of the most intense flames they have seen in Essex County in a long time," Gloucester Fire Chief Eric Smith said. "So you know conditions for fire, not just here, but all over of the state and with the drought condition that we are in, people really need to be careful."
The fire never made it to any homes, but some families chose to evacuate to escape the smoke that took over the neighborhood.
"You know we have advised some folks that asked with small kids and pets, birds, what have you that are a little more susceptible to smoke that if you have asthma or other respiratory conditions, that you may want to go ahead and self-evacuate for now, " Smith said.
Residents are hoping it rains soon.
"This is one of the worse that I've seen," Giordano said. "I'm actually a landscaper and everything is dried up in June and we are just praying for water, especially around Gloucester here. Clouds come in and just, nothing."
Firefighters were still in the area Monday night trying to prevent flareups from the dry conditions.
