Middleton fire mostly contained but threat of high winds loom

MIDDLETON — Someday, the smoke will clear. But for now, the Middleton Pond Fire keeps burning, 17 days after it started. So far, it’s consumed almost 250 acres -- though state officials said it is 80 percent contained.

“There’s still fire in the middle of the burn area,” said Alex Belote, Fire Program Coordinator for the DCR Bureau of Fire Control and Forestry. “There could be embers that could be thrown by the wind on a day like today.”

Fire officials feared Tuesday’s high winds could also reignite fire still smoldering deep in the forest floor, where it is feeding off up to two feet of decaying and flammable organic matter. But as of late afternoon, few, if any flames were seen.

What remains is plenty of smoke -- and a new danger: falling trees.

“The roots are burned out on some of the trees,” said Belote. “And some of them have burned in the middle, so that any gust of wind can knock them over. There have been a couple of firefighters that have been struck by falling branches.”

Those firefighters are okay -- but a falling tree killed a forest ranger in New York State over the weekend.

In fact, the sound of trees and limbs crashing down could be heard in the smoke-filled areas.

Governor Maura Healey visited the command center for the Middleton Fire Tuesday -- with a message of thanks for the firefighting efforts -- and an appeal to state residents to both conserve water and avoid starting new fires.

“A lot of these fires we’re seeing are caused by human behavior,” Healey said. “Now is not the time to burn leaves. Now is not the time to go outside and light a fire. No fire pits, no charcoal grilling -- nothing that sends out sparks.”

Because any stray spark could result in a new fire -- given the dry air and lack of precipitation.

“Any fire will spread quickly and will become very difficult to control,” said State Fire Marshal Jon Davine. “The fire will burn wide and it will burn deep in the ground.”

Dave Cellino, the chief fire warden for DCR, said the number of wildfires in Massachusetts the past seven weeks is closing in on 500 -- with more than 250 breaking out in the first 12 days of November alone. That is ten times the normal number of such fires for November.

“Every single day now that we go without precipitation, the situation gets worse,” Cellino said -- and that includes for the well-being of firefighters. “Every operational period, the fatigue factor increases,” he added. “Decision-making starts to become a challenge.”

The ultimate solution, of course, is heavy rain, snow or frost.

“We’re all just looking at the weather every day and looking for that rain event that’s really going to end this thing,” said Belote.

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