Open Fires Banned Across MA State Parks Amid Extreme Drought

MASSACHUSETTS — All outdoor open flame fires — including campfires and charcoal cookouts — were banned across Massachusetts state parks on Tuesday as crews battled 38 fires totaling 188 acres statewide over the past seven days amid the extreme drought conditions.

It is the first such statewide ban since 2016. There is an exception for small portable propane grills at campgrounds and recreation areas where grilling is permitted.

The ban was effective immediately and will be in place "until further notice," according to the Department of Conservation and Recreation.

State fire officials said at a news conference at the Breakheart Reservation, which has seen 75 acres burn in Saugus and Wakefield in recent days, that fire danger remains high despite this week's bout of rainfall and that even fires contained in recent days are smoldering more than a foot beneath the ground's surface "almost like charcoal."

DCR Chief Fire Warden David Celino said that as of Tuesday there were 12 active fires in the state, including the Breakheart fire, four fires that combined into one and burned 86 acres of the Lynn Woods Reservation, one that burned 19 acres and threatened homes in Rockport and one that burned 25 acres in Marlborough.

"This gives you an idea of what happens when we introduce drought," Celino said.

(Also On Patch: Large Massachusetts Brush Fires Challenge Firefighters Amid Drought)

He said the first indication that the fire season would extend beyond the typical spring season — at which time grass and trees green up and fires are less likely to spread — was the Townsend State Forest fire that "was absolutely drought-induced" and burned 15 acres over seven days in early July.

"When the weather goes bad on the drought side it affects fuel (kindling) conditions and then that's what drives the situation like here at Breakheart," Celino said.

Celino said the larger fires in Massachusetts that have burned for a lengthy period will transition to ground fire and become a "challenging, extended operation for any fire services involved."

"That's a given," he said. "We're seeing it."

He said even when those fires are 100 percent "contained" they continue to smolder beneath the ground and remain a threat until there is an extended rain period that is much more substantial than the state experienced the past two days.

"Two days of rain gives us respite," he said. "It gives our resources the chance to get after these fires without the chance of new starts. Probably, the fire danger is low for two days. That means we are not going to get any new fires. But then there is another drying period.

"What this rain doesn't do is that it does not saturate the ground. It's not going to put out the ground fire or the heat that's in there. There is still a lot of heat here in Breakheart."

He said the state is dealing with a "long haul" fire danger until it gets what he called "a season-ending event."

"Which would be that tropical storm that comes up and parks itself off the coast for a few days," he said. "We need three or four steady days of steady rainfall that will help us out."

(Scott Souza is a Patch field editor covering Beverly, Danvers, Marblehead, Peabody, Salem and Swampscott. He can be reached at Scott.Souza@Patch.com. Twitter: @Scott_Souza.)