‘Suspicious in nature’: Fire crews battle brush fire Georgetown-Rowley State Forest

GEORGETOWN, Mass. — Fire crews battled a brush fire at Georgetown-Rowley State Forest on Tuesday afternoon into Wednesday morning.

According to Chief Matt McKay, the Georgetown Fire Department extinguished several brush fires in the Georgetown-Rowley State Forest Tuesday evening and into Wednesday morning.

Boston 25 crews got an up-close look at the aftermath Wednesday night.

“Very stubborn, very difficult to fight,” McKay told Boston 25 Wednesday. “For every fire you knock down, it pops back up again.”

He continued, “Even with the high humidity levels overnight, the ground was still wet, it didn’t really matter. It wasn’t stopping this fire. It just goes to show how dry things are.”

McKay claims the department will be investigating the brush fires off the highway.

“We believe this to be suspicious in nature,” he added.

Georgetown fire and neighboring municipalities will be monitoring the contained fire overnight and into the morning. The say state assets will be on scene Thursday to help their efforts.

The office of the state’s Fire Marshall claimed they have not been requested to investigate this incident as of Wednesday night.

They explained in a statement, “The statewide Fire Mobilization Plan has been activated to deliver firefighters and apparatus from outside the region to support local and mutual aid personnel.”

On Tuesday, November 5, around 4 p.m. Georgetown Fire was dispatched to the Georgetown-Rowley State Forest for reports of a brush fire. The Georgetown Fire Tower confirmed three separate areas of smoke rising from the forest area.

Upon arrival, crews found three small areas burning in the forest. Fire crews from the State Department of Conservation and Recreation later arrived on the scene and identified a fourth fire in a different area of the forest.

All fires were knocked down on Tuesday evening and were pulled out of the woods once it got dark to ensure firefighter safety.

The four fires were estimated to span about an acre of the forest.

On Wednesday, November. 6, at about 4:15 a.m., crews were dispatched back to the forest after a passerby on Interstate 95 reported flames.

Crews arrived on the scene to find that the fire had spread significantly overnight. Crews immediately strengthened the fire lines to help stop the spread of fire.

The fire was contained at about 8 a.m. and the fire is estimated to have grown to a ten-acre span of the forest.

Crews will remain on the scene throughout Wednesday to continue wetting the area and prevent further spread due to red flag conditions across the state, Georgetown Fire said.

The Groveland, West Newbury, Newbury, Boxford, and Ipswich Fire Departments provided mutual aid during the fires. Rehab Five also responded on scene to provide food and drink to responding crews.

“Georgetown Fire would like to remind residents that a red flag warning is in effect, the fire department said in a release. “This warning means that dry, warm, and windy conditions create the potential for “extreme fire behavior.” While the warning is in effect, outdoor burning is prohibited.

The cause of the fire is under investigation.

This is a developing story. Check back for updates as more information becomes available.

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