MONTGOMERY – A brush fire, which has been burning for approximately 24 hours, has consumed nearly 70 acres on Tekoa Mountain near the Westfield Watershed.
Easthampton Fire Chief David Mottor, acting in the capacity of public information officer for this incident, held a press conference at 11 a.m. Wednesday morning in the parking lot of Wyben Union Church in Montgomery to discuss the fire
Westfield, Montgomery and Russell began receiving calls reporting smoke in the area starting around noon on Tuesday, Mottor said, but no one could pinpoint the blaze until around 3:30 p.m. Tuesday.
“This is early for such a fire,” Mottor said, “Usually the ground is snow-packed at this time of year.”
Smoke can be scene in the distance at the command center set up on Pitcher Road to fight the 70-acre brush fire on Tekoa Mountain. (Photo by Christine Charnosky)
Even though rivers reached near flood stages over the past week or so, and “water is running down Tekoa Road, the ground surface is really dry,” Mottor said.
“There is low humidity and the fields are dry,” he added. Plus Wednesday’s expected record high temperatures will help spread the fire.
“Our goal is to get the perimeter contained,” Mottor said, “For the interior hot spots we’re hoping to get some rain this weekend that will take care of all that because trying to mop up 70 acres completely would be about a week-long venture.
“We’re trying to get the perimeter contained so it won’t spread any more,” Mottor said.
Wednesday afternoon, Mottor reported that the fire was about 90 percent contained.
There are between 80-85 firefighters battling the blaze from nearly 30 area departments, according to Mottor.
Nearly 30 fire departments work from a command center on Pitcher Road to fight the 70-acre brush fire on Tekoa Mountain. (Photo by Christine Charnosky)
By Wednesday morning the following departments were on scene: Montgomery, Westfield, Russell, Huntington, Palmer, Ware, Easthampton, Westover Air Reserve Base Fire Department, Blandford, Pittsfield, Windsor, Lanesboro, Great Barrington, Richmond, Greenfield, Turners Falls, Bernardston, Gill, Montague Center, Colrain, Northfield, Northampton, Granby, Belchertown, Amherst and South Hadley District 2.
Minutes before the 11 a.m. press conference, Mottor said that Agawam and Holyoke just joined the other departments.
In addition, the Massachusetts Emergency Management Agency, the Massachusetts State Police department of fire services and the Department of Conservation and Resources are assisting the plethora of fire departments.
A command center is set up on Pitcher Road, but there is still a four-mile hike from the road for crews to reach the blaze.
No injuries have been reported thus far.
“There is no threat to any structures,” Mottor said adding that the nearest homes are approximately a half-mile away.
If the fire began to jeopardize structures, then the Air National Guard might be called in to do air drops, Mottor said, but “the cost is astronomical – approximately $5,000 per hour.”
No cause for the fire has been determined, but Mottor said it was probably started by humans, presumably accidentally.
Map showing area of Tekoa Mountain brush fire provided by Easthampton Fire Chief David Mottor.
Staff Writer Christine Charnosky can be reached at [email protected]
