Copyright 2006 MediaNews Group, Inc. and New England Newspaper Group Inc.
By ELLEN G. LAHR
The Berkshire Eagle (Pittsfield, Massachusetts)
With three suspicious mountaintop fires finally quelled yesterday morning, Monument Mountain Reservation was declared off limits for the weekend, or until after an expected rain wets the dry scrub this weekend.
Meanwhile, the state Department of Environmental Conservation has imposed a statewide ban on brush burning until further notice because of dry conditions.
A serious brush fire on Green River Road in Alford later yesterday prompted another countywide mutual-aid response, with firefighters from as far as Williamstown, Lanesborough and Windsor showing up to help, along with a helicopter water drop.
By around 4 p.m., that fire was reported to be under control, just as Otis firefighters were called to aid with a house fire in nearby Blandford. Sheffield firefighters were summoned to their station around 4 as well, when a brush fire in Canaan, Conn., required more help.
Some of the departments called out later yesterday had already spent the morning and Thursday night bringing the Monument Mountain fires under control.
The three separate blazes on the peak near Route 7 were believed to have been set around 6 p.m. Thursday along the high Squaw Peak trial, within a stretch of about 150 yards.
Firefighters from around the county responded, hiking up some treacherous rocky ledges with 5-gallon jugs on their backs.
They were called off the mountain before 9 p.m. as the night grew dark and working conditions grew dangerous. Although firefighters left the fires burning, the night brought little wind, and a frost moistened the ground, Fire Chief Harry Jennings said.
At 6:30 a.m. yesterday, fire crews returned to the mountain, and by 9, the blazes were “totally under control.”
Yesterday, the trustees staffed the entrances to the reservation’s main access trails to keep out hikers.
“We’ve never shut down before,” said Jim Prince, a maintenance employee with the Trustees of Reservations, which manages the mountain preserve. “It’s precautionary because it’s so dry, and you never know. You can’t take the chance.”
After returning to their department from the Monument Mountain fire yesterday, Alford’s firefighters needed countywide mutual aid and a helicopter water drop when a brush fire got out of control on Green River Road. Firefighters from Williamstown and Lanesborough were among those back in South County yesterday.
The dry conditions also created problems in North Adams, where the Fire Department stopped issuing outdoor burning permits after two fires occurred on Thursday afternoon. The permits allow city residents to burn brush and wood on their property.
A discarded cigarette might have started the blaze that burned about one-fourth of an acre near a footpath between Brick Yard Terrace and Brick Yard Court shortly before 1 p.m., said North Adams Fire Director Stephen A. Meranti. He said there were no controlled fires nearby.
Twenty minutes later, the department responded to an out-of-control brush fire on South State Street, close to a residential area. Firefighters needed almost two hours to control that blaze, which scorched almost two acres of land. Bruce Hayden had a city permit for the fire. The state’s brush burning season lasts from Jan. 15 to May 1.
Last year, the department restricted fire permits because of dry weather and heavy winds, Meranti said. “We’re not going to start giving out permits until we get a good soaking rain.”
A fire in the woods of Richmond Hill in West Stockbridge took firefighters from Lenox, Richmond, Stockbridge and West Stockbridge more than 30 minutes to extinguish.
Hard to get to
Thursday’s three fires were spotted from as far as Egremont and the Massachusetts Turnpike, several miles to both the east and southwest.
The fires were “at the hardest places to get to,” said Trustees’ Assistant Superintendent Josh Burch. He added that the area was especially dangerous, at 1,640 feet high on a rocky ledge.
A mutual aid call from Great Barrington on Thursday evening, before the sun set, brought dozens of firefighters from eight departments to the mountain.
Around 8 p.m., after dark, the blazing fires and gray smoke rose directly under the six points of the Orion constellation.
By 9 p.m., winds were becoming brisk and, with the risk of injury rising, Jennings summoned the volunteers down through the smoke. The fires were left to burn.
He said Great Barrington Police were waiting at the bottom of the mountain to question some descending hikers headed back to their cars at day’s end, but police yesterday reported no arrests in connection with the fires.
There was no specific evidence of fire starting, Jennings said, but the location and proximity of the three fire spots, which comprised about seven acres, point to an intentional start.
Deputy Chief Edward G. McCormick hitched an airplane ride from Great Barrington Airport yesterday morning around 6:30 to check conditions. He and the pilot flew around the area for about 20 minutes.
"[When firefighters] left Thursday night ... the mountain was on fire,” he said. “This morning, I couldn’t see any smoke.”
There were hot spots to manage, however, and Jennings again contacted the county’s mutual-aid coordinator, Butch Garrity, who coordinated volunteers from towns including Williamstown, Savoy, Florida, Adams, Lanesborough, Egremont, Alford, Monterey, Sheffield, West Stockbridge and New Marlborough.
The reservation parking lot was jammed with off-road and fire vehicles.
The Route 7 south breakdown lane was buzzing with ATVs and other tiny trail-worthy vehicles ferrying some 30 firefighters and water jugs. At the lower access road entrance to the reservation property, the convoy cut up into the woods onto the hiking trail.
Where the Squaw Peak trail takes a sharp northward uphill turn, the ATVs had to halt and hiking began.
It was a tough trek on steep ledge, said Florida Fire Chief Michael Bedini, who brought three of his town’s volunteers and an off-road vehicle. Bedini said the steep climb with 30 pounds of water took a toll on his legs.
By 10 a.m., Jennings had directed most of the firefighters down Monument Mountain, and another batch of ATVs headed up the path to pick up the men at the Squaw Peak fork. But they didn’t take the rides and were content to walk down in the spring air.
A handful of crews remained in place on the mountain to monitor conditions, as more water was delivered in trailers. By 11:30 a.m., the mountain was cleared of firefighters.
Jennings said the fires are another example of the department’s need for its own all-terrain vehicle, which could access parts of the mountain, where a number of emergencies occurred in the past few years.
Each time, the department must summon other fire departments with off-road vehicles to help with rescues and accidents in remote spots.
“This proves once again that we need these,” Jennings said.
Staff writer Patrick G. Rheaume contributed to this report.