Wildfires have been flaring up across the Northeast for weeks as the region continues to experience unusually dry conditions. And the ongoing situation is putting a strain on fire departments and local budgets.
Last Friday, firefighter Peter Curto used a hose to soak the charred ground of a rocky and marshy area of woods in a residential neighborhood of Braintree.
“We just got to hit the hot spots before they ignite again,” Curto said.
About half the Northeast is in a state of drought and the rest is abnormally dry. And that’s led to significant wildfires across the region, including in New York, New Jersey and Connecticut.
There hasn’t been a serious rain in Massachusetts in two months. On Tuesday, the state declared all of Massachusetts is in a “critical drought,” with the exception of Cape Cod and the islands, which are in a normal condition.
“It’s so dry, so deep,” said Fred Viola, acting chief of the Braintree Fire Department. “You know, the old moss and all the old grass and leaves and everything that’s underneath there is smoldering. And when the wind kicks up, it flares up. So we’ve been here all week just doing that. And it’s so dry, we just need some rain.”
Every night, Viola is sending out a two-person patrol in a squad truck that drives around the neighborhood to watch for any fires overnight.
They’ve also been relying heavily on mutual aid agreements. Local fire departments in Massachusetts have a mutual aid system that lets them call in backup from neighboring towns and states when needed.
Viola says 21 different municipalities sent firefighters to help — many of whom are dealing with their own fires.
The nonstop fires create hazards for firefighters who are working week after week, too, while they still have to respond to their typical medical calls, car accidents and any other fire.
“They get fatigued and stressed,” said Dave Celino, the chief fire warden with the state’s Department of Conservation and Recreation. “We’re seeing hazards increase in these fires, with dead trees coming down.”
Normally, in Massachusetts, there would typically be 20 or 30 fires in October. This year, there was a 1,200% increase, according to Alex Belote, the fire program coordinator with DCR’S Bureau of Fire Control and Forestry.
“And all these fires are human caused,” he added. “So these are caused by campfires that aren’t put out. These are caused by disposal of ashes, people burning leaves in their backyard.”
Even a hot engine from a lawnmower or leaf blower can spark a fire, Belote said. Fire officials have been pleading with people to be careful.
Massachusetts has seen more than 500 wildfires in the last month. Like many fire departments across the Northeast, Braintree’s firefighters have been working for weeks to hold back an unusual surge in wildfires.
In recent weeks, 427 acres of Lynn Woods have burned. The roots in the park are still burning underground and ignite freshly fallen leaves. Lieutenant Denis Ring, who’s been with the Lynn Fire Department for 19 years, has never seen anything like it.
“This is the first time that I’ve fought fire this late into the season — these types of fires, these brush fires,” Ring said. “So I don’t know if it’s going to become the new norm. I certainly hope not.”
Fighting wildfires is also expensive, especially when local departments lean on their mutual-aid agreements.
“That will chew into our budget, those overtime costs, as well as the costs for the equipment,” Ring said. “I know that not just us, but other departments around us, you know, are taking a pretty good hit in that manner.”
A USDA report from last year estimates the cost of just the federal government’s fire suppression is well over $2.5 billion each year.
“Out west, states are used to very large fires and they involve a lot of federal involvement because of the immense amount of federally involved land,” said Peter Muller of the Pew Charitable Trusts, who has researched how federal and state governments budget for fighting wildfires. “That’s probably not the case in the Northeast.”
Some federal reimbursement is possible if certain disaster declarations are made. But for the most part, in the Northeast, the firefighting costs fall to state and local governments.
An extended wildfire season is likely to hit city budgets, said Michael Kelleher, president of Massachusetts Fire Chiefs Association.
“Most of it is overtime paid by the local communities,” Kelleher said. “That’s how mutual aid works. The idea is: we go help somebody today, tomorrow they’re coming to help us.”
And the expense goes beyond just paying for more manpower hours, he said.
“If this is the new norm, we need to start making investments into equipment to combat these fires and personal protective equipment for our firefighters. I think that’s important,” Kelleher said. “And then training ... as the fire behavior changes and we look at different ways in which these fires evolve and spread, you know, we need to learn new tactics.”
For now, local fire officials are keeping a close eye on the weather forecast. It’s supposed to rain later this week, and they’re just hoping it’s enough to make a difference.
Tori Bedford and Hannah Reale contributed reporting.
