Hundreds of brush fires have broken out across drought-stricken Massachusetts over the past month, and Abington hasn’t been exempt.
Abington firefighters spent large chunks of Monday and Tuesday battling a stubborn pair of brush fires in a heavily wooded and rocky area off Rockland Street. This was on top of helping a regional task force combat a roaring blaze in the Blue Hills Reservation.
“It’s been a long couple of days,” Abington Fire Chief Jack Glynn said Tuesday night, shortly after once again leaving the Rockland Street woods.
Abington Fire received a call Monday afternoon reporting heavy smoke in the woods between Rockland Street and the Avana apartment complex. They battled the blaze into the early morning hours, as the fire fed on the carpet of ultra dry leaves, pine needles, and underbrush. The region is so dry that the fires are able to travel underground along tree root systems and suddenly pop up dozens of yards away, Glynn said.
After leaving the woods early Tuesday morning, firefighters returned mid-morning to finish soaking down the area, this time aided by crews from the North Shore.
Early Thursday evening, a couple hours after crews had left the scene, Abington Fire got a call again reporting heavy smoke in the area.
Sure enough, a new fire had popped up just outside the area that had previously burned, Glynn said. So for the second time in two days Abington Fire responded, shutting down Rockland Street, and pushing into the woods with the department’s new brush truck.
Glynn said the department left the scene about 8 p.m. The fire was out, and the heavily rocky, uneven terrain makes the area dangerous to work at night. The department was planning to return early Wednesday morning to check for hot spots.
But for the moment, Abington Fire needed to rest, he said. Even before the brush fire popped up on Monday, Abington Fire crews were working with teams from across Norfolk and Plymouth counties to battle the big Blue Hills Fire, which consumed more than 50 acres. They were scheduled to return to the reservation Tuesday morning, but had to stay local to deal with their own fire. The flare-up Tuesday night meant the department was likely going to cancel a training session planned for Wednesday down in the South Coast, according to Glynn.
“I think everybody is exhausted,” he said.
State Energy and Environmental Affairs Secretary Rebecca Tepper this week declared “critical drought” conditions exist through most of Massachusetts. The state has received less than an inch of rain over the past month, and most areas are running a rain deficit of eight to 11 inches for the year. Typically, more than three inches of rain falls every month.
More than 200 brush fires popped up in October. There are nearly 40 brush fires actively burning across Massachusetts, state officials said.
A healthy rainstorm is expected to push through the region Thursday into Friday.
Glynn said he’s not sure what started the brush fire in Abington. The underbrush is so dry that sun reflecting off a broken piece of glass on the ground could touch off a blaze.
You must be logged in to post a comment.