HARTFORD, Conn. — For those camping and hiking in Connecticut's state parks, cancel those bonfires and keep the cooking indoors.
Connecticut's Department of Energy and Environmental Protection has placed Saturday a burn ban on all of its state parks and forests until further notice. This means visitors are asked not to use grills, make firepits or light any fires outdoors, light smoking materials or use ATVs that don't have spark arresters.
Connecticut was also placed in a state of emergency Friday as the dry and windy weather makes it easy for brush fires to start and spread. There is no rain in the weather forecast for the next seven days.
Just on Saturday, crews responded to several brush fires. One brush fire near Ayers Mountain in Franklin has multiple neighboring fire departments responding in the area. Firefighters are also responding to another brush fire in Voluntown.
Firefighters and The National Guard have been fighting a brush fire on Lamentation Mountain in Berlin since Monday, which has been the focal point of a series of brush fires that sparked around the state this week. Officials said Friday evening that the Berlin brush fire was started by a campfire.
There is also a no-fly zone over the fire in Berlin, and officials are asking recreational drone operators, pilots, hikers and ATV operators to avoid the area, as incidents with these groups have delayed efforts to put out the flames.
A retired firefighter volunteering for the Wethersfield Fire Department was killed Tuesday in a UTV crash while responding to the Berlin brush fire. First responders will remember Robert Sharkevich, Sr. with services this weekend and Monday.
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