Firefighters battle major brush fire near Reservoir

Canton Point resident Sheila Pransky captured this photo of the brush fire taken from Kelly Way on Sunday, Oct. 27.

Firefighters from Canton and several surrounding communities were still on scene as of Tuesday battling a major brush fire that broke out near Reservoir Pond on Sunday, October 27.

The fast-growing fire, which originated in the fields behind the Pappas Rehabilitation Hospital for Children, spread from four to 31 acres overnight into Monday, prompting a larger response that included assistance from several area departments as well as crews from the Department of Conservation and Recreation’s Forest Fire Control division. The State Fire Marshal’s Drone Unit also responded to help locate pockets of fire.

In an update posted around midday on Monday, the Canton Fire Department reported that crews were working from the PRHC and Orchard Cove sides of the pond to extinguish the remaining fires and wet down hot spots. A water drop operation by helicopter was also planned, but the CFD reported Tuesday morning that the operation had been canceled.

“The operation is needed more for the Salem fires,” reported Canton Firefighters Local 1580, referencing another major brush fire that crews on the north shore were still working to contain.

All told, there were 47 fires burning across the commonwealth as of earlier this week, 18 of which, including the Canton fire, started on Sunday, according to the state Department of Fire Services. The largest of the fires, located northwest of Salem near the Middleton Reservoir, quadrupled in size within a span of a day, torching more than 250 acres and prompting air quality warnings in the surrounding area as crews worked feverishly to contain the blaze, aided by air support from the National Guard.

Meanwhile, at Reservoir Pond in Canton, crews were back on scene Tuesday morning, marking day three of an exhaustive firefighting operation.

“We are back at the Pappas Rehab,” reported Firefighters Local 1580 in an updated post on Facebook. “We are assisted today by DCR-Mass. Forestry and a Forest Fire Task Force from Plymouth County.”

Also assisting with the effort were fire crews from Plymouth, Hanover, Duxbury, Carver, Abington, Rockland, Pembroke, Hanson, Sharon and Brockton, with medical support provided by a Bridgewater ambulance in case of firefighter injuries. Fire crews from Sharon also on scene Monday, along with CFD squads 1, 2 and 3, CFD tankers 1, C1 and C4, and crews from Norwood, Randolph, and the Boston Sparks Association.

Canton firefighters said Tuesday that the remaining fires were smoldering and some were “deep rooted,” although they stressed that there was “no danger to homes or other properties.”

While officials have not said what caused the Canton fire, DCR Chief Fire Warden Dave Celino said the lack of rain in October has led to an elevated risk of brush fires across the commonwealth.

“In those conditions where we have warmer temperatures in the 70s like we’ve seen sporadically, combined with drying winds, that just creates the perfect condition for easy ignition,” Celino told WBZ NewsRadio.

He noted that DCR believes all of the recent fires were human caused because there have not been any lightning systems in the area, adding that the agency has seen a recent pattern of abandoned campfires and outdoor burning.

Celino told WBZ that even a spark from a lawnmower on dry grass can lead to a fire. “Part of our plea is for the public to be very, very wary of the elevated fire risk messaging out there [and remember] that any spark can cause a new fire,” he said.

The elevated fire risk was expected to last through at least the end of this week, with the next best chance for rain coming on Friday with a cold front expected to sweep through the area.

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