North Shore Fires Ruled Arson: $5K Reward In 8 Lynn Woods Blazes

LYNN, MA — A $5,000 reward has been offered for information leading to an arrest of those responsible for setting eight North Shore brush fires that burned about 400 acres of land across Lynn Woods and sent smoke across the region in the past week.

Lynn and state fire officials said the recent fires were "intentionally set" and that they are seeking the public's help in the investigation.

The fires have closed off areas of the park, threatened residences at times, and flared up again on Wednesday after crews had contained them using a State Police water drop earlier in the week.

"About 40 percent of Massachusetts homes are in or near wildland areas," State Fire Marshal Peter Ostroskey said. "Setting a fire in this environment is an extraordinarily dangerous act. If you have any information that can help investigators, please share it today."

The set fires came at a time of warm, windy and dry weather conditions that were ripe for fast spread. Nearly the entire state was under a "high danger alert" for wildfires this week, according to the National Weather Service, with the elevated danger expected to last into the weekend before some rain is expected late Saturday.

"Any fire can present a hazard, but we saw rapid fire growth threatening numerous homes in our community as a result of these fires," Lynn Fire Chief Daniel Sullivan said. "Firefighters from Lynn and our mutual aid partners worked extraordinarily hard to bring them under control, and we're extremely fortunate that we had no serious injuries or property damage."

Officials said they believe the fires were set on May 12, May 13 and May 17.

"Fires like these put people, property, and wildlife in harm's way," state Chief Fire Warden Warren Celino said. "They can burn for days or even weeks, and they require a massive amount of resources to contain.

"That puts an enormous strain on firefighters, their departments, and the communities they serve."

Those with any information on the fires can contact the State Police Fire & Explosion Investigation Unit at 978-567-3310 or the Arson Watch Reward Program at 1-800-682-9225. Tipsters may remain anonymous if they wish.

A brush fire in Salem off Marlborough Road was among the other fires that broke out on the North Shore in recent days as some residents in the city were advised to keep windows and doors shut in their homes because of the smoke.

"Thank you to the Salem Fire Department & Emergency Management for their multi-day efforts in helping to contain recent brush fires in our community," Salem officials said on Thursday. "We thank the community for their assistance in getting the timely word out to neighborhoods, too, but we are very grateful for the emergency response from our professional teams again."

(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.)