Connecticut deals with more than 100 brush fires as historic drought persists: officials
More than 100 brush fires have broken out across Connecticut as state officials warn that the threat of more outdoor blazes could continue into next year if the historic spell of dry weather persists.
As of Sunday night, officials were actively addressing five fires in Berlin, Bristol, East Lyme, Oxford and Roxbury, according to Richard Schenk, a fire control officer for the Connecticut Department of Energy and Environmental Protection.
Schenk told the CT Insider that they could still be working on handling the fires into January if weather conditions do not improve, as the state continues to be at an elevated risk. He recommended that no one burn anything outdoors for the time being.
There are 111 brush fires being monitored or in the early stages of being addressed, Schenk said. If there is no rain soon, new fires will likely crop up over the next few days.
The brush fires come as Connecticut faces a record drought and an 8-inch rain deficit over the last two months, state officials said.
One of the largest brush fires so far broke out at Rocky Neck State Park in East Lyme, Conn. over the weekend. The fire, which burned nearly 50 acres, was so bad that firefighter crews were sent all the way from California to lend a hand, as reported by Fox 61. Crews from Quebec have also come to help, NBC Connecticut reported.
The Rocky Neck fire has yet to be extinguished and the park will remain closed until conditions improve, East Lyme officials said.
A fire in Berlin, Conn. has proved to be worse than East Lyme’s. The blaze on Lamentation Mountain is currently the largest in the state and has been burning for two weeks straight, Berlin Fire Chief Jonn Massirio told CT Insider.
Dubbed the Hawthorne Fire by the crew, the ongoing fire in Berlin has reached over 100 acres — and, as of Sunday, was only 50 percent secured, Massirio told the News Times.
Ten bush fires cropped up between Oct. 31 and Nov. 1. Another four were reported on Nov. 2, according to the DEEP’s wildland fire reporting system.
