A large brush fire burning on Lamentation Mountain that resulted in the death of a firefighter now is believed to cover some 125 acres, as dry, windy conditions threaten to overwhelm a containment area first responders had established, Connecticut officials said Wednesday.
Helicopters from the Connecticut National Guard planned to begin dropping water on the fire around 1:30 p.m. Wednesday afternoon, Gov. Ned Lamont announced in a post on social media.
The announcement moves up the timeline for the aircraft, which originally were planned to dump water on the fire early Thursday. A forestry helicopter from Maine initially was expected to be used to fight the fire from the air early Wednesday afternoon. It was unclear whether that aircraft still is planned to be used.
The governor said the helicopters would be picking up water from Silver Lake and dropping it over the fire.
“This will likely cause loud noise in the area,” Lamont said.
Earlier, state officials had pressed the importance of the aerial firefighting effort because of the inaccessibility of the terrain that’s burning.
Crews battled the fire through the night into Wednesday and were able to contain it in a “box,” said Michael Kronick, a fire control officer with the state Department of Energy and Environmental Protection.
“We are working to secure all the edges,” said Kronick, a former Westport fire chief. “With today’s weather forecast, we will be tested on those lines, and if the lines hold, we will be able to make great progress on this.”
He said fighting the brush fire has mostly seen crews digging “hand lines.” To fight forest fires, crews dig and scrape away any vegetation that may act as fuel, creating a physical line in the dirt where the fire can’t burn any farther.
Bill Turner, the state’s emergency management director, said earlier that a forestry helicopter from Maine would be deployed Wednesday afternoon. The helicopter was delayed earlier in the day due to foggy conditions.
The Connecticut National Guard said Wednesday morning it planned to deploy a Blackhawk helicopter and a Chinook, a dual-rotor heavy-lift helicopter, both equipped with water buckets. It was unclear whether both of those helicopters would be used Wednesday afternoon.
“Given the terrain and accessibility issues, those aerial assets are going to be pivotal in helping us get this fire under control,” Turner said.
The National Weather Service has issued a red flag warning for the entire state Wednesday, warning that a combination of winds gusting up to 25 mph and dry conditions could allow for “rapid fire spread if ignition occurs.”
The state Department of Energy and Environmental Protection also said the risk of brush fire is “very high,” while the risk in Litchfield, Hartford, Tolland and Fairfield counties is “extreme.” The designations mean open burning of brush or other debris is essentially prohibited, since local permits for burning are invalidated when the risk is “high” or above if burning is near woods or grassland.
“Really, today any spark is going to cause a fire,” said Kronick, the state’s fire control officer. “It is dry, it is windy. The fuels are receptive statewide.”
He indicated that the warning applies to every industry, even construction. If you’re doing something that sparks — “don’t do it today,” he added, including in the list fire pits and even using a gas grill outside.
“We’re in a condition where any spark is going to start a fire, and all fire starts small,” Kronick added.
At the cul-de-sac of Quincy Trail, which is right behind the fire, three DEEP personnel, two ambulances and fire crews were on stakeout at around 9:30 a.m.
The DEEP personnel said that they weren’t worried of any damage to the houses in the residential neighborhood due to the grass in people’s yards still being green.
They added that even though forest was dry due to the lack of rain and weather conditions, the fire was contained within the forest and the only effect residents would likely have in this neighborhood was poorer air quality, which could affect those with medical conditions.
In an update Tuesday night, Berlin firefighters said the fire’s spread mainly was to the north and south along ridge lines behind Sea Green Drive and in the south into Meriden, officials said. Officials said there had been no reported damage to homes.
During the fire operations on Tuesday, Meriden police said a Wethersfield firefighter was killed when a utility vehicle rolled over on him. Police identified the firefighter as Robert Sharkevich Sr., a veteran of the Hartford Fire Department. Three other firefighters also sustained non-life-threatening injuries during the rollover, police said.
Jennifer Fournier-Dubree, a Berlin resident for more than 30 years, said she and her family were devastated, but thankful to see their community rallying behind the firefighters and first responders fighting the flames.
Fournier-Dubree, who lives in a neighboring road across from the Hawthorne fire, said on the first night of the blaze, her family saw it gradually grow while they waited from the bottom of the mountain.
“We hear about fires in California or other places in the distance, right?” Fournier-Dubree said. “But when it’s in your backyard, I think it really hits home as to what’s really happening in our world. It can happen in your own backyard.”
Fournier-Dubree said it has been difficult for her to shake the feeling of helplessness, especially after a Wethersfield firefighter lost his life while fighting it.
“It’s hard not being able to do anything (to help),” Fournier-Dubree said. “We were all listening to the scanners, and just wondering, like, OK, so what are they going to do?”
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