An improperly doused camp fire caused a small but deep-burning brush fire off the Wapack Trail in New Ipswich, which fire crews spent two days eradicating.
New Ipswich Fire Chief Meredith Lund said Saturday that a hiker on the trail noticed smoke on Thursday around noon, and alerted fire crews. The fire was about three and a half miles from the Binney Hill entrance to the trail, and though it only burned in a localized area about 10 feet by 6 feet wide, it appeared to have been burning for several days, and had burned deep into the ground.
The fire had reached the roots of five surrounding trees, damaging them.
The fire radiated from evidence of a fire circle that wasn’t properly put out, Lund said.
“There wasn’t a proper campsite there, but there was evidence of a fire ring,” she said.
Crews started hiking to the fire on noon on Thursday. There were no readily available water sources, and so firefighters had to haul in water in five-gallon backpacks. Lund said during wetter parts of the year, there are springs in the area where water could be found, but with the Southern part of the state entering drought conditions, they were all dry, and crews had to rely only on what water they could carry.
Crews remained on scene until nightfall on Thursday, putting out the visible flames, and returned to the scene on Friday morning, to dig into the ground to root out the embers. Lund said the fire had burned down about a foot.
“It’s probably been burning for a few days,” Lund said. “This wasn’t a campfire that was started the day we were out there.”
Lund said that because water is scarce in the area, they were lucky the smoke had been spotted when it was. If the fire had spread further, it would have required a lot more manpower and several days to root it out, she said.
Conditions are currently very dry, and Lund said residents should only ever start a campfire when they have received a permit and in a proper fire pit. Conditions in New Ipswich currently allow for campfire permits, but brush is currently banned due to the dry conditions. Residents should always check conditions before burning.
Ashley Saari can be reached at 924-7172 ext. 244 or asaari@ledgertranscript.com. She’s on Twitter @AshleySaariMLT.