As the Butternut Fire continued into its third full day Thursday, Lieutenant Brian Mead of the Great Barrington Fire Department briefed reporters next to an engine in the bay of department headquarters.
“Patrols and alert residents notified us of some fire activity less than a quarter of a mile from homes," said Mead. "That activity was stopped in its tracks. You will see many out-of-town vehicles and apparatus. This reflects mutual aid, state, and federal partners in the statewide fire mobilization plan, which brings resources to support our community.”
With ongoing drought conditions in Massachusetts overwhelmingly contributing to the fire’s outbreak and spread, many were thrilled to see the week’s first rain Thursday. Mead cautioned that while the precipitation has helped, it would not extinguish the blaze.
“Today's rain has slowed growth and allowed our crews to make great progress cutting firebreaks through the woods to control the expansion," he said. "We stated before, and we're going to state it again- Those control lines are holding.”
While the fire grew explosively from Tuesday into Wednesday – expanding tenfold to around 1,100 acres – it made much less progress into Thursday. Mead said estimates peg its size at around 1,200 acres.
“Despite the rain, smoke from this fire will continue to affect the air quality," said the lieutenant. "Poor air quality can make those with allergies worse and cause respiratory infection, especially for people with heart disease, asthma, and other respiratory diseases.”
While the rain has stunted the fire’s growth, it remains effectively uncontained.
Around 120 personnel were on the ground fighting the fire Thursday.
“We continue to operate under a unified command of support from local, state, and federal agencies, including Kristen Elechko, the Western Mass director of the governor's office,” said Mead.
Mead then turned to the plan for Friday.
“We are planning much smaller crews and will focus on monitoring and reporting," he said. "Those crews will largely be local sources, with assistance from the Park Service. As of now, no homes are in danger. However, overnight patrols and monitoring will continue and dispatched and resources will be dispatched as needed. Area residents can expect the smoke to linger in the air for the foreseeable future.”
As officials work to corral the wildfire, they’re also attempting to rein in rampant online rumors.
Mead identified one piece of misinformation making the rounds online: that Camp Eisner off Route 7 was the starting point of the fire.
“We want to state that the actual cause and start location of the fire is not known at this time," he said. "There's a lot of misinformation out on social media, and we ask that you please, please rely on official sites for this.”
Turning to another inaccurate claim proliferating on social media, Mead also reiterated that the ski resort that now shares a name with the fire remains untouched by its flames.
“Ski Butternut was never in true danger," said Mead. "Fire crews kept the fire a safe distance from Ski Butternut.”
Helicopters dumping water across the smoldering mountainous region affected by the fire have drawn from the nearby resort’s snow and ice making supply.
“The support of our community and beyond has been immense," Mead said. "At this time, we need to suspend donations. Especially as we approach the Thanksgiving holiday, we encourage all of those who have made purchases to please donate those purchases to the local food pantries.”
While the response to the fire will continue for weeks to come, Mead said daily press briefings will stop for now.
“This will be the last live press conference, unless there are significant developments," he said. "Information and updates will continue to be shared on a regular basis through our Facebook page.”
Officials say that while the origin of the fire is almost certainly human, containing it remains the top priority for now.
