Woodland Acres Fire Continues to Burn
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From the Gloucester Daily Times:
The Woodland Acres brush fire has grown to more than 10 acres since it first began on July 13. Meanwhile, the Poles Hill brush fire in Gloucester is believed to be extinguished.
Forest Fire Warden Michael Frontierro and his crew were out fighting the flames in Rockport again Monday afternoon. He said they were out battling the fire Sunday night for eight hours after it flared up. On Saturday, firefighters were called three separate times to the conservation area to knock down some flames.
The state Department of Conservation and Recreation (DCR) estimated the blaze hit the 10-acre mark over the weekend. However, Frontierro said it’ll likely be more after Monday’s flare-up.
The fire is still contained within the boundaries set by DCR in late July. Firefighters then conducted controlled burns of the brush near Woodland Acres nature trails so the fire has nothing to burn near the homes on Woodland Avenue.
At a public meeting on the fire last week, DCR Chief Fire Warden Dave Celino stated prolonged rainfall is the only way to completely stop the fire—“about two to three inches of rain over a two- or three-day period,” he estimated.
Although some areas around the North Shore saw some rain this past weekend, Rockport was mostly bone-dry.
“We pulled out around 8 pm (Sunday) because of the lightning but there was no rain,” said Frontierro. “Afterwards we were back at it.”
“There’s allegedly supposed to be more (rain) tomorrow but we’ve heard that before,” Frontierro said Monday. “It’s been dissolving out before it can reach us.”
Until then, firefighters are going to soak the perimeters of the fire daily to keep the spread down.
The Woodland Acres fire isn’t the only brush fire that has raged on Cape Ann. A fire deputy walked the perimeter and through the center of the brush fire site on Poles Hill on Monday morning and saw no smoke, said fire Capt. Jamie Santos. Crews also removed hoses left on scene that were burned and trashed, he said.
Gloucester and Massachusetts Forestry Services firefighters were at the conservation area extinguishing flareups over the weekend before Sunday night’s rain.
“We’ve been out there seven days straight,” Santos said Monday, “but yesterday’s microburst may have done the trick.”
The state used helicopters to air-drop tons of water on the Poles Hill fire late last week. Frontierro said a helicopter won’t help the Woodland Acres fire as it’s mainly burning underground. How deep it goes is anyone’s guess.
No injuries have been reported in relation to the Woodland Acres fire.
Andrea Holbrook contributed reporting to this story.
Story by Michael Cronin