Crews Are Checking For Hotspots And Patrolling East MT. Fire Area
Although the East Mountain wildland fire crossed over 1,000 acres of forest and land, it just left the Appalachian Trail a little damaged. This fire is now the state's largest wildland fire in more than two decades.
Crews have started dousing hotspots and patrolling the perimeter to make sure it doesn't spread. That could take several more days. The fire was 90 percent contained as of Tuesday evening, according to the Massachusetts Department of Fire Services.
More than 120 firefighters from 19 departments in Massachusetts and Vermont have helped battle the fire while the National Guard and Massachusetts State Police dropped water on it from helicopters.
Not much damage happened to the Appalachian trail itself, though there was some damage at the campsite in the fire area. AT campsites took the biggest hit. One of the three tent platforms was lost, but that is it.
Hikers were asked to avoid the Appalachian Trail section in Clarksburg State Forest as it was in the wildland fire's path.
Massachusetts state officials will be on the scene for the next several days conducting mop-up. operations.
A Savoy volunteer firefighter rescued a dehydrated fawn from the woods on Monday. Francis Levesque carried the baby dear from the woods as he and his crewmates fought the wildland fire that started in the Clarksburg State Forest Friday and spread to roughly 1,000 acres.
A photo of Levesque carrying the fawn went viral on local Facebook groups, where residents had been watching for news of the fire’s spread.
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