The Middletown Press (Middletown, CT)
Brush fires smolder in Middletown
Officials: Source of second blaze ‘suspicious’
MIDDLETOWN — Local officials are calling a massive brush fire that has burned hundreds of acres this week in the city one of the most “substantial” blazes they have ever seen in the area.
While Connecticut typically sees about 500 acres affected by brush fires each year, about 300 acres have been burning this week in Middletown, officials said Wednesday.
The first brush fire touched off Tuesday afternoon about a quartermile from Pratt & Whitney, near the Haddam line. South Fire District Chief James Trzaski said it was sparked by a tree falling on a power line that ignited the brush.
With the help of more than 100 firefighters and 10 other depart
ments, first responders battled the initial blaze, which reached about 250 acres.
However, early Wednesday morning a second blaze ignited under “suspicious” circumstances, according to the state Department of Energy and Environmental Protection.
The original fire continued to burn Wednesday with smoke seen rising from a grassy area off Aircraft Road. Several hots pots were still burning, however, operations had moved to the second fire on Freeman Road where 40 more acres were affected, Trzaski said.
“High winds made the response challenging,” and fire crews were called off the scene about 9 p.m. Tuesday, the chief said.
The DEEP said staff and members of the Connecticut Interstate Fire Crew on Wednesday were maintaining perimeter controls by conducting back burns and getting a better estimate of the size of the fire.
The cause of the Freeman area fire was not immediately known, but DEEP said it was “not caused by lightning strike or downed power lines.”
Trzaski added that though the second fire was close to the original fire, it’s difficult to find a direct correlation between the two. Middletown Police and the South District Fire Marshal’s Office are investigating the Freeman blaze.
Conditions had improved a bit by Wednesday, Trzaski said. “The winds are favorable today, however, everything is warming up, and the dew point is dropping down, which creates dryer conditions. We’re hopeful that, by the end of the day, it will be contained.”
“This fire will continue to smolder and burn until we get some substantial rain,” he added.
Trzaski said the fire grew to just under 300 acres Wednesday and crews would pull out before nightfall. Crews will return in the morning to reassess and continue to maintain a perimeter around the blaze.
No firefighters were injured Wednesday. One firefighter, who injured their ankle battling the brush fire Tuesday, was released from Middlesex Hospital, Trzaski said.
Trzaski learned from talking to 40-plus-year members of the department that “this is one of the most memorable, substantial fires we’ve had — not only the size of it, but how fast it grew.”
Tuesday’s efforts were exacerbated by dry and windy weather conditions, he said. “The wind was so tremendous, it took it and pushed it right up the terrain.”
When fires move uphill, they burn faster, Trzaski said. “The confectionery currents preheat the fuel ahead of it and it just goes.”
When it reached the crest, near Eversource power lines Tuesday night, there were 30- to 40-foot flames in the air, he added.
The second fire was 50 percent contained by mid-morning Wednesday. “Until we get a fire line all the way around them, we’re going to continue to say it’s 50 percent,” Trzaski said.
Crews were in the process of cutting a fire line into the ground at the “head of the fire” on Freeman Road, the chief said. “They’ll burn off — at a slower pace — all the fuel load it’s going to hit, then it goes out,” he said.
Similar tactics are used in California, he added.
“In a smaller fashion, forest fires are good for the health of the forest because it burns off the thickness of the duff ” — or vegetative matter — “and the fuel load is much lower, and allows new growth,” Trzaski explained.
As winds have calmed, the chief said crews will let the part of the fire close to Freeman Road burn itself out naturally, and if it moves closer to the roadway, they’ll use water to dampen the area.
Connecticut and federal agencies had issued warnings about the potential for wildfires in the days leading up to the blaze. The state has seen several days of dry and windy weather, which can quickly dry out lighter fuels and cause fires to spread rapidly.
It’s also toward the end of what is traditionally Connecticut’s spring fire season, when the risk of brush fire is higher after the snow melt, but before leaves are fully grown on trees.
The brush fire danger level for Wednesday is “very high” for northern Connecticut and “high” for southern parts of the state, according to the state Department of Energy and Environmental Protection.