Massachusetts is facing an outsize fire threat due to a confluence of conditions this fall — and the officials tasked with protecting Berkshire County are on high alert.
“There is a burn ban in effect, there are no outside fires, and use your head," Tom Sammons told WAMC. "Common sense has to prevail here. Fires get started very, very quickly with just a spark- And a little bit of wind is going to push a fire. There's been fires that have been burning for weeks east of us. It's a real threat.”
Sammons is fire chief in Pittsfield, the largest community in the region with the largest fire department in Berkshire County.
“So right now, we're having a historical drought," he told WAMC. "We haven't had anything like this since around 2008.”
Scott Turner is the fire chief of Great Barrington, the largest community in Southern Berkshire County. He says we’re in the most prolific period for fires in Massachusetts that he can remember.
“In the state, we've had over a thousand fires, and they're accounting for over 2,000 acres total," said Turner. "And really the main reason is we've had no significant rain for quite some time. It looks like we are generally on an average of six inches plus deficit for rainfall.”
According to state data, Massachusetts saw fire rates climb by an astonishing 1,200% above the historical average in October, and has already received reports of more than 130 fires in November so far.
The commonwealth is currently under a Red Flag Warning from the National Weather Service. It’s the highest-level fire alert and means concern for brush fires is at a crescendo.
“We started off with elevated fire danger, and we've been into Red Flag- I believe it's been for well over a week," said Turner. "With the wind, any fire that gets away from something that people might consider to be a contained fire will spread very rapidly. So that's a result, obviously, of the lack of rainfall. We've had lower than usual relative humidity, so everything is much drier now than it normally would be because of that.”
He says only slow, steady rain over multiple days will bring wildfire concerns back to earth.
“Every morning, we get an activity briefing that comes from the Massachusetts DCR, the Bureau of Forest Fire Control and the State Fire Marshal's Office," explained Turner. "So, they're updating us on the active fires that we have throughout the entire state. Generally, they're at their notifying us of the large fires and the progress of the fire, the containment, the local resources that are on those fires, and then they'll also include current weather and predicted weather.”
Sammons’ department in Pittsfield has faced its share of fires this fall, and he says that wind has been a major factor.
“It happened the other day, right? The wind will push a fire that quick," he told WAMC. "And we can be fighting it, and if embers get caught up in the wind and push up a hill or push down a hill, they'll start new fires. And that's what's happening throughout the Northeast. That's what's happening down in New Jersey and in New York, in Massachusetts, Connecticut. The Northeast is plagued with these outside fires right now, and it's because the wind will carry the embers another 100 yards if you don't catch it, and then it'll start a fire because it is so dry, and the wind keeps it dry. So, we get a little bit of rain, we don't get enough rain, and it's still keeping everything super dry right now. And the soil is dry too, so it starts burning underground, which is something we're not used to.”
Peter Miner is fire chief of Savoy, a small hill town in the eastern reaches of the Berkshires.
“We've banned all outside burning, no open flames," he told WAMC. "We’re a little bit higher elevation with Savoy, so it remains a little bit more moisture, but we're still under the same conditions as everybody else.”
His guidance to town residents goes down to the granular level.
“Careless disposal of cigarette butts right now is a big issue," Miner said. "I know that along the highways, that's been a little bit more of a concern. My biggest concern right now, we haven't had an issue yet with it, is just, obviously, the nights are getting colder, I have a lot of residents that heat with wood heat, so just kind of being vigilant and being careful while you're lighting your wood stove on these cold nights when it's dropping down in the 20s, because it's still dry out there, so embers could fly out of your wood stove and kind of linger for drier times with a little bit of wind during the next day- Just kind of covering your covering your back with that.”
Savoy sits at an elevation of more than 1,700 feet, 700 feet higher than Pittsfield and a thousand higher than Great Barrington. Miner says that usually plays to the town’s advantage when it comes to wildfire risk, but isn’t the case this year.
“Usually during our burn season, when we have dry conditions, when wildfires are a big issue, we have a little bit more snow melt off, and we're a little bit behind with losing our snow in the springtime," said Miner. "So, this is kind of an even playing field. We have the same dry conditions as all the lower elevations.”
The U.S. National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration’s National Centers for Environmental Information is projecting that 2024 will beat out 2023 as the hottest year on record.
Miner says all Berkshire County can do for now is wait for rain.
“When the wet stuff falls from the sky, it's going to change everything,” he told WAMC.
