Gloucester firefighters and those from the Massachusetts Department of Conservation and Recreation were out in the woods off Dory Road on Monday morning dousing hot spots from a brush fire Sunday that appears to have been started at an encampment, according to the fire chief.
Gloucester Firefighters Local 762 posted Sunday on Facebook that firefighters were working with Rockport Fire and DCR to manage the blaze, crediting Group 3 firefighters for doing a “great job … given the limited access and rough terrain.” Rehab 5 also responded to provide rehabilitation services for firefighters.
The Gloucester police log shows a 911 call for “black smoke in the area” of Dory Road at 11:20 a.m. Sunday. A subsequent 911 call reported “smoke near Blackburn” at 11:29 a.m.
A caller from Stage Fort Park reported seeing smoke coming from the Blackburn Industrial Park area, according to a police report.
The smoke could be seen from the water. Rockport’s dispatch center related the town’s harbormaster saw black smoke coming from the same area. Dispatchers notified the MBTA.
Signs the area held an encampment included an old mattress, tent poles and a cooler in the woods, according to photos shared on Facebook and Times photo editor Paul Bilodeau. The location is about a half-mile into the woods.
Fire Chief Eric Smith said an area of 100 feet by 100 feet burned between Dory Road of Blackburn Industrial Park and the railroad tracks of the Rockport commuter rail line. With the dry weather, the fire was able to get “deep into the peat” where it can smolder underground and reignite. Smith said a small crew was out Monday hosing down the area.
He said he heard radio communications of there being an encampment, but the cause of the fire had yet to be determined. He said brush fires in the woods in the area from encampments have been an issue in the past.
In mid-May 2023, firefighters doused a brush fire that burned about 1 1/2 acres in the vicinity of the Babson Water Treatment Plant. It was the same general area as a brush fire that burned 2 acres along the southbound side of the Route 128 Extension on May 8, caused by a campfire.
With this latest stretch of dry weather, it’s not just campfires that pose a fire risk but other forms of outdoor fires such as those in a fire pit or chiminea, Smith said.
“Anything that gets going, it’s just going to take off,” he said.
He said brush fires don’t start on their own most of the time.
“Somebody did something incendiary that got away from them,” Smith said.