Crews were back at Brownell Mountain on Sunday, working to contain the fire that broke out this weekend.
Water was pumped from the creek off of South Brownell Road. Firefighters were near the summit of the mountain, battling flames that sparked on Saturday afternoon. It quickly grew to about an acre.
The Burlington airport called it in after pilots reported seeing the fire. With the ground too dangerous to reach right away, crews called in a helicopter staged in Lebanon, New Hampshire, to slow it down by dumping 2,000 gallons of water.
โThe purpose of that was to hold the fire in its footprint to prevent it from growing,” said Vermont Wildland Fire Specialist Devin Healy. “The soils are so dry right now that the helicopter is not going to put the fire out. It bought us the evening to assemble the crew to run a hose up to the fire.โ Crews ran nearly a half mile of hose uphill to reach the flames.
Around 35 firefighters worked throughout the night and into the day, knocking down hot spots and clearing hazard trees.
An investigation into the fire is in its early stages, but it appears to be human-caused, according to fire officials.
With conditions still very dry, they’re reminding everyone to adhere to Vermont’s burn ban. “We need to be extra vigilant during this time. Even if we get a little bit of rain, don’t expect the state’s posture to step down because it is so dry, it’s going to return to being dry,” Healy said. “It takes a lot of rain. It’s going to take seven to eight inches over the next month to bring us back to normal.โ
The fire is expected to be fully contained by the end of Sunday, but crews will keep watch throughout the week.
