Recent dry and windy weather in Massachusetts has led to a series of wildfires throughout the state, covering large areas in smoke.
According to the state Department of Fire Services, 18 active brush fires were reported in the last 24 hours as of Monday, and 47 since the start of the weekend.
“The dry, sunny, breezy weather is great for recreation, but it also means that any outdoor fire will spread quickly and become very difficult to manage,” said State Fire Marshal Jon Davine. “We’re seeing preventable fires growing to dangerous sizes and drawing numerous resources, locally and regionally.”
On the North Shore, a brush fire that started behind Walmart on Highland Avenue in Salem over the weekend burned about 130 acres in Salem, Lynn, Peabody and other communities between Saturday and Monday, WCVB-TV reported.
Firefighters were set up near Walmart Monday morning, working on a wooded slope on the side of Highland Avenue next to Insa Cannabis.
By about 9:30 a.m., the flames were mostly under control in that area, but firefighters continued to spray the area with water to put out small flames and smoking stumps and trees.
Smoke from the Salem fire and another nearby in Middleton could be seen and smelled by people throughout Greater Boston Monday. AccuWeather’s smoke map showed smoky conditions covering a large area and potentially moving further southwest as the night progressed.
According to the National Weather Service, the smoke was trapped near the ground Monday morning by a “surface inversion,” a weather phenomenon where cooler air is closer to the ground.
The Middleton fire also spread into other communities, including North Reading and Breakheart Reservation in Saugus, burning about 50 acres as of Sunday, according to Boston 25 News. The fire is expected to burn for several days before crews can extinguish it.
“Throughout the afternoon our crews and mutual aid partners worked to contain as much of the fire area as we could,” Middleton Fire Department officials wrote on Facebook Sunday, adding that they had to call off the effort for the night for firefighter safety.
While no injuries or damage to buildings from the North Shore fires had been reported Monday, a separate fire in Millbury on Saturday killed a woman in an encampment where the fire was believed to have started.
James Urban, an assistant professor in Worcester Polytechnic Institute’s Department of Fire Protection Engineering, explained that recent dry conditions were a big factor in the proliferation of fires. He added that there has been less rainfall in 2024 than in 2023, especially in the last few months.
“When you go from a lot of wet weather to a lot of dry weather, there’s a lot of fine fuels that grow and then die,” he said. “If it dries out, that can be very dangerous tinder for a wildfire to start and spread.”
On Friday, the National Weather Service put out a red flag warning for all of southern New England, an alert that means there is a high danger of fires. While the alert was only in effect Saturday, NWS continued to warn of dry weather conducive to fires through Tuesday morning.
However, NWS said there was a chance of light showers Tuesday night, especially in northern and northeast Massachusetts, and again on Friday.
Urban said wildfires like the ones in Salem and Middleton can be particularly difficult to control because of their size. Firefighters typically try to contain wildfires rather than immediately put them out, which makes it much easier to organize crews.
“If the fire grows quickly on its own and escapes, then it becomes a lot harder,” he said. “The bigger it is, the more perimeter there is to try to contain.”
He said that climate change could be a factor in the frequent wildfires reported around the world in recent years, but this is more likely due to variability in conditions rather than increasing temperatures.
He emphasized that human activity is the biggest cause of wildfires, whether they are started by arson or accidental.
“As more people move into the wildland-urban interface, there’s an increased chance for wildfires to start simply because of exposure to people,” he said.
State officials are urging residents to use caution in the current conditions and refrain from outdoor cooking and heating. In addition, ashes from fireplaces and wood stoves and smoking materials should be carefully disposed of and open burning is prohibited statewide through January.
More tips for outdoor fire safety are available here.
