By Peter Yankowski
Journal Inquirer
BERLIN, Conn. — The risk of brush fires Tuesday in Connecticut continued to be considered “very high” across the state, as dry, rainless weather was still affecting the region.
Monday saw brush fires erupt in Vernon and on Lamentation Mountain in Berlin near the Meriden line. While the 9-acre fire in Vernon was reported to have been knocked down, Berlin fire officials said the blaze on the mountain was “expected to be a prolonged event that will take multiple days to contain.”
Photos from Monday night shared by residents on social media showed the fire visible against the night sky as a halo of flames on the mountain.
As of Tuesday, all of Connecticut’s eight counties were considered at “very high” forest fire danger risk, according to the daily report issued by the state Department of Energy and Environmental Protection. The risk was considered “very high” statewide on Monday, as well. The designation places some restrictions on open burning — permits from local officials to burn brush are invalidated when the risk is “high” or above.
The warnings, and the back-to-back fires in Vernon and Berlin, come amid a stretch of dry weather across the state, though not yet considered a drought. The U.S. Drought Monitor has designated much of Connecticut outside of Fairfield and New Haven counties in the southwest and southern Hartford County in central Connecticut as “abnormally dry.”
The label, known as D0, is the lowest of five drought levels the organization uses to categorize drought. During abnormally dry periods, areas affected may experience elevated fire danger or a spring fire season that starts early; stunted crop growth or delayed planting; declining levels of surface water; and wilting gardens and lawns that brown early, the drought monitor says.
None of Connecticut’s counties has any areas that have moved into the next category, D1, or “moderate drought.”
The forecast in the coming days doesn’t hold much relief.
Tuesday is expected to see light winds of up to around 5 mph, a factor that can determine how quickly brush fires spread once they start. However, conditions are expected to remain sunny and mostly dry into this weekend. There is a slight chance Wednesday night could bring some showers as a cold front makes its way into the region, but chances are low.
In a news release posted to Facebook around 12:25 a.m. Tuesday, Berlin fire officials said there was no need for residents to evacuate, and that there were no plans to “enact any evacuation orders.”
The fire was located east of the Sea Green Drive and Bannon Lane areas and moving northeast “at a slow rate of speed,” Berlin fire officials said. Because the fire is located in “steep and rocky terrain,” officials said their overnight operations would be limited, with an increase in personnel and equipment expected at 9 a.m. Tuesday.
“The fire is expected to be a prolonged event that will take multiple days to contain,” the news release said. Officials have also placed a “no-fly order” over the area, Berlin firefighters said, to allow official aircraft to operate at the fire.
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