North Shore Brush Fire Claims 86 Acres Of Woodland Over 5 Days

SWAMPSCOTT, MA — Following five days of flames burning about 86 acres of the Lynn Woods Reservation, fire officials claimed that "extensive progress" was made over the weekend in containing the rampant brush fires.

Lynn fire officials said four separate fires that burned for days were combined into one fire as of Monday that they said is not expected to burn beyond the current fire lines.

"However, (the fires) will continue to burn within them until some significant rain can arrive," Lynn fire said.

While Monday's showers provided a dose of that, officials said it will only put a dent in the conditions amid the North Shore's "extreme drought conditions."

"While this rain is nice, we will need at least another couple of days of good soaking rain to get into the ground," Lynn fire said. "Officials will do a walk-through this week and reevaluate a time frame for the reservation to reopen.

"It remains closed."

North Shore residents from Swampscott and Salem, to Beverly and Danvers, reported the smell and sight of smoke in the air this weekend amid fires in Lynn, Rockport, Saugus and Wakefield in hot, windy and dry conditions.

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

Lynn fire, which worked with several neighboring departments and had extra crews on throughout the week, said they used about 5,000 feet of hose and 40,000 gallons of water to fight the stubborn flames. More than 120 firefighters participated in containment efforts in the Lynn fire alone over the past week.

The Department of Public Works spent Monday assessing and marking trees that will have to come down "due to the danger they possess."

(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.)