A woman burning boxes in her New Ipswich backyard sparked a brush fire that spread over nearly three-quarters of an acre, according to fire officials.

Fire crews were called out to 43 Malthouse Road on Monday for a smoke investigation, according to Fire Chief Meredith Lund in an interview Tuesday. Crews arrived on the scene at about 4:17 p.m., and found that the woods in the back of the house were on fire.

The homeowner had been burning boxes in a wooded area of her backyard, according to Lund, and had thought she had adequately put out the flames before going back inside.

“We had quite a bit of wind last afternoon, so anything that wasn’t quite out had the potential to start something like this,” said Lund.

The woman tried to put out the fire herself with a hose, and had to be treated for smoke inhalation, said Lund.

The fire was first believed to be contained to a half acre area, but crews discovered that the wind had carried some embers to a separate downhill area and ignited another quarter of an acre.

The homeowner had not obtained a burn permit. Currently the New Ipswich Fire Department is only issuing permits for Category II burns, which includes controlled fires in a break, such as camp or cooking fires, and can only be kindled between 5 p.m. and 9 p.m.

Lund said the Fire Department did not cite the homeowner.

“She ended up transported to the hospital for possible smoke inhalation. We chalked this up to a learning experience,” said Lund. “The lessons to be learned here are to make sure that you have a permit, make sure your fire is completely out, especially in windy conditions, and to make sure that you have access to a good water source.”

When fighting a brush fire, crews find an anchor point near the origin of the burn, and then flank the fire to try to keep it from spreading by either digging a trench or putting a line of water down to soak the ground and materials. After the fire is contained and knocked down, crews check the surrounding area for additional burns started by stray embers being carried off by the wind.

In this case said Lund, crews kept the fire contained with a combination of dirt lines, foam packs and lines of water with a dilution of dish soap to help it soak into the ground.

The fire was out at about 6:30 p.m.

Greenville Fire Department assisted the New Ipswich Fire Department in fighting of this fire, while Jaffrey Fire Department was on call to cover New Ipswich.