SALEM, MASS. (WHDH) - Brush fires burned through wooded areas around Massachusetts over the weekend and into Monday, amid dry conditions and windy weather.
As of Monday morning, 47 fires were burning across the state — including 18 new fires since Sunday, according to the Massachusetts Department of Fire Services.
A woman was found dead in a burning encampment in Millbury Sunday evening, the department said.
Firefighters extinguished the brush fire near the Blackstone River Bikeway near Route 146, the department said. Another brush fire was burning in Weston, where fire crews were working to contain the flames.
In Stoughton, hot spots spread across about 10 acres of conservation land.
“Initially they thought they’d be able to handle it, but then realized it’s all back into this conservation area,” said Stoughton Fire Chief Michael Carroll.
Carroll said his goal is to contain the flames and keep them away from the houses on Woodpecker Road and Sparrow Drive.
“To me, right now, if I can contain and protect that neighborhood on the backside, running south, it runs into water, and just letting that go right now,” he said.
Crews are also working against fires burning underground, he said.
“I guess it’s burning down into the roots and weakening them, and we’ve had about four or five trees fall,” Carroll said.
He said he expects firefighters to be tackling the blaze for the next couple of days.
SKY7-HD spotted a U.S. National Guard helicopter dumping 600-gallon buckets of water on the blaze in Middleton Monday afternoon. The buckets were refilled at nearby Middleton Pond.
“About 250-plus, upwards of 270-ish acres burning so far,” said Middleton Fire Chief Douglas LeColst. “Very dry.”
7News watched as a brush truck from North Reading got its tank refilled from a fire engine on site.
“Obviously, we need a good water supply, and we have a hydrant right out there, and the brush trucks come out and they fill up, and they drive over the rough terrain and they put the water on the fire.”
Randy Brown was out Monday afternoon walking his dog in the smoke. The 30-year Middleton resident said he was concerned about his home, just a few thousand feet away from the fire.
“I was surprised how quickly it grew. Sunday morning I was here and they’d just brought the first truck, and a little white smoke. But, today, now we’ve got a brush fire,” Brown said.
He said the smoke was blowing in the direction of his house.
Firefighters in Salem worked throughout Saturday night and Sunday morning to extinguish a large brush fire near the Lynn line.
The fire broke out near the Walmart on Highland Avenue and sent a large plume of smoke over the neighborhood.
Crews could be seen using ladder trucks to feed water lines into the woods, where brush and trees were on fire.
Other fires were reported in Beverly and Canton. A smoky odor lingered in the air in Boston Monday.
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