Thunderstorms early, then becoming clear after midnight. Low 66F. Winds WSW at 5 to 10 mph. Chance of rain 90%..
Thunderstorms early, then becoming clear after midnight. Low 66F. Winds WSW at 5 to 10 mph. Chance of rain 90%.
Fall has come to section of Poles Hill after a fire ripped through, burning the ground and drying out the leaves on some trees in the fire’s path.
A rolled-up hose remains on the ground Tuesday in the aftermath of the Poles Hill fire.
Burnt leaves hang on a tree in the aftermath of the fire on Poles Hill on Wheeler Point.
A hose remains on the ground in the aftermath of the Poles Hill fire.
Fall has come to section of Poles Hill after a fire ripped through, burning the ground and drying out the leaves on some trees in the fire’s path.
A rolled-up hose remains on the ground Tuesday in the aftermath of the Poles Hill fire.
Burnt leaves hang on a tree in the aftermath of the fire on Poles Hill on Wheeler Point.
A hose remains on the ground in the aftermath of the Poles Hill fire.
The smoky Poles Hill brush fire that broke out on Aug. 1 has injured three firefighters and cost the department up to $54,000 in overtime, hoses, supplies and equipment to date, fire Chief Eric Smith told councilors Tuesday night during a Zoom meeting.
This last week, Smith said, there have not been any flare-ups, but firefighters have worked a few hot spots.
“This rain has helped,” Smith said. “The weather turned and got much cooler which is helpful to not only the scene up there but also to our personnel who are trudging up and down that hill trying to get work done.”
As best he could, Smith said he tallied up the response to the brush fire on Wheeler Point that has charred up to 16 acres during more than 20 days.
In total, the brush fire has generated 23 reports, including for the initial response to a fire on the hill on July 31, the large brush fire the next day, plus subsequent calls from neighbors and from hot-spot patrols.
A Massachusetts Army National Guard helicopter performed 80 water drops on Aug. 3 and 4, dropping 600 gallons a drop, or 48,000 gallons of water to help contain the fire.
Crews, he guessed, used 50,000 gallons, but that was hard to quantify due to the use of forestry hand lines attached to hydrants without meters.
The overtime cost so far has been $40,000, including for three firefighters who were injured, including one who was out for two weeks, another Smith said he hopes will be back “sooner rather than later,” and a third who had to have surgery for some broken bones.
Oddly enough, Smith said, the injuries happened after the first day when there was the most fire and activity. He said it was due to the hilly, rough terrain on Poles Hill.
The department has also spent another $13,000 to $14,000 for hose, supplies, food, water, and damaged equipment.
Smith told councilors initially there was a small fire on the hill that was extinguished on the evening of July 31.
“That fire was extinguished or at least we felt that it was extinguished,” Smith said. “You know, this fire could have been a rekindle but that fire that occurred originally was certainly set by humans, right.”
There were no other ignition sources on the hill and there was no lightning in the area. Smith told councilors the investigation into the cause started almost immediately.
Earlier this month, a Gloucester man was arraigned on a charge of “fire negligence” for what court documents and police describe as reckless behavior in lighting a camp fire in a fire pit that spread on Poles Hill the evening of July 31 that the Fire Department extinguished.
“The police were excellent at coming in and working on this from the original fire up there and so they have tracked that down and done their due diligence,” Smith said.
Reports of the large brush fire came in on Aug. 1 at about 10:30 a.m., Smith said. By 2:30 p.m. that day, he said crews had it “pretty well contained.”
He said 75 personnel cycled through on the first day.
The response included the command unit, 10 engine companies, a ladder company, a rescue company, an ambulance, five forestry trucks, a rehab unit, drone-spotters, four staff cars and mutual aid assistance, Smith said.
On the first day, 48 Gloucester firefighters responded, including the on-duty shift plus staff that was called back and an off-duty group that was called in to relieve those who had been battling the fire in the woods for up to eight hours.
Smith said crews came from Hamilton, Wenham, Peabody and Middleton provided station coverage.
They also had a half dozen state Department of Conservation and Recreation forestry firefighters respond. A dozen responded for a couple of days during the final push for containment, Smith said.
Due to the drought, and the fire smoldering underground, firefighters are still keeping tabs on Poles Hill.
“Even after these couple of minor rains that we’ve had, they really have not extinguished those underground fires completely,” he said. As time goes on, the fires will smother on their own as they burn out of available fuel.
Smith said he spoke with the administration of Mayor Greg Verga and he said he does not believe closing the woods would be a good option. It is better to have someone spot a small fire that can be put out with a watering can instead of wasting 100,000 gallons on something that is preventable.
“It takes all of our good citizens out of the woods who are our eyes and ears, and I want them in the woods,” Smith said.
Ethan Forman may be contacted at 978-675-2714,or at eforman@northofboston.com.
Ethan Forman may be contacted at 978-675-2714,or at eforman@northofboston.com.
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