BERLIN, Conn. — On Wednesday, state and local fire officials provided the media with a unique, up close view of the difficult terrain they've had to deal with while battling the Hawthorne brush fire.
The fire is about to enter a new, more manageable phase, and officials say they are cautiously optimistic.
The blaze was caused by a careless campfire, and a condo community nestled at the base of Lamentation Mountain came close to danger. Berlin Fire Chief John Massirio said if the fire wasn’t reported as quickly as it was, the neighborhood might look a lot different.
Ten days and 127 acres of scorched earth later, the Hawthorne Fire is about to enter a new mop up phase.
“Fire did encroach on these houses pretty closely. I believe in spots we were no more than maybe 100 feet away from the homes,” described Massirio.
“We are really pleading with the public to take this seriously,” added CT Emergency Management Director William Turner.
State and local fire officials gave an up close view of the steep rocky terrain they’ve had to contend with, coupled with abnormally dry weather. It rained Tuesday night but only 4/100ths of an inch.
“It really did nothing to help curb the fire danger threat out there,” explained Josh Cingranelli, of the Department of Emergency Management and Homeland Security. “The sunshine has come out, the winds are starting to pick up, and everything is just as dry as it was yesterday.”
Operationally, crews have put the water dumping helicopters on standby. They’re now only fighting the fire by hand. They’ve laid more than a mile and a half of hose and are using massive pumps to force the water uphill.
They have created fire breaks to help stop flames from easily crossing a line. Fire breaks are essentially bare lines in the earth free of organic debris and vegetation. But keeping those breaks free of foliage is the new problem.
“The oak leaf litter falls off the trees and covers up the lines we have in so every morning we are out there clearing those lines ensuring that nothing can creep back through them,” said Ryan Hughes, the operations chief of the Hawthorne Fire.
Most of the fire is now smoldering underground like an oven. Crews are digging out the hundreds of hotspots that remain and they are using thermal imaging drones to locate them.
“We will go in, identify hot spots and put water on them. Stir them up and make sure they aren’t going to be a problem in the future,” added Hughes.
Residents like Rich Slisz, on Sea Green Drive, certainly hope that’s the case.
“A couple of times we had sparks flare up in the back up on top. Hot spots,” he said.
His backyard is still lined with fire hose and sprinklers.
“You could see the smoke coming up over the mountain,” said Slisz. “These guys are a bunch of heroes. They are about here every day. We put some snacks out for them and some water and said anything you need.”
State fire officials say they’ve brought in resources from as far away as Quebec, Canada to deal with 80 wildfires across the state.
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Matt Caron is a reporter at FOX61 News. He can be reached at mcaron@fox61.com. Follow him on Facebook, X and Instagram.
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