GLOUCESTER , MASS. (WHDH) - The Gloucester Fire Department is battling a three-alarm brush fire in the area of Poles Hill and Riverview Road, the department announced.
At about 10:45 a.m., fire crews responding to the scene found “a large area of brush burning in dry, windy conditions, and in an area that is difficult to access,” the department said in a press release.
“It’s scary given how dry everything is,” said Gloucester resident Steve Carvalho. “We haven’t had rain in how many weeks. It’s a little too close for comfort.”
SKY7 captured footage of people throwing water at the dry brush to try and keep the flames from spreading to homes. One man is shown spraying the brush with a squirt gun.
Firefighters evacuated a few homes close to the smoke and flames as a precaution.
“My sister-in-law lives on this corner house, so we’ve got her ready to come to our house if she needs to, and they’ve evacuated a couple of the houses further down to the south here,” said Carvalho.
Gloucester residents said that brush fires in the summer are not new, but the level of this one has not been seen before by the town.
“It’s dry up there, that’s the problem,” said Gloucester resident Paul Larrabee. “There’s just a lot of fuel a lot of food for this fire.”
There are no reported injuries at this time, and much of the fire has been contained. Firefighters have left the scene for the night after preventing flare-ups in the dry conditions. They will return to Gloucester Tuesday Morning to continue to watch for flare-ups. Residents are advised to avoid the area.
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