Strong winds Monday afternoon fanned a spark from munitions into a brush fire that swept across the Devens South Post Range, burning about 350 acres, according to estimates by the Devens Fire Department. Two teams of Harvard firefighters were among the crews who fought the blaze Monday evening and much of the day Tuesday. The fire was fully contained by late Tuesday afternoon, said Harvard’s Fire Chief Rick Sicard.
No one was injured in the fire, and no buildings on the post were at risk, according to both Kelsey Schiller, director of communications for MassDevelopment, and Jazika Levario of the Public Affairs Office for the U.S. Army Garrison, Fort Devens.
The Devens brush fire that burned 350 acres of the South Post as seen from Fruitlands, March 22. (Photo by Lisa Aciukewicz)
The fire started about 4 p.m. Monday, possibly when a round of ammunition struck something metal on Delta Range, and the resulting spark ignited the dry brush. The Devens Fire Department was the first to reach the scene, and multiple departments from surrounding towns came to assist as the blaze grew to four alarms. Among those responding were Harvard, Ayer, Shirley, Lancaster, Littleton, Bolton, Lunenburg, Boxborough, Groton, Westford, Clinton, Leominster, Sterling, and Districts 6 and 8.
“Because the Range has live munitions on it, firefighters can only safely fight the fire from the roadways on the Range,” Schiller wrote in a bulletin Tuesday afternoon. Some crews reported hearing explosions within the burn area, Chief Sicard told the Press.
Harvard’s Engine 3 and the forestry truck—with six firefighters—arrived at the range about 5 p.m. Monday and stayed until nightfall. It was considered too dangerous to fight the fire on the range in the dark, so the Fort Devens Range Control staff patrolled the perimeter of the fire as it burned during the night.
Three Harvard firefighters, along with teams from the other towns, returned around 7:30 Tuesday morning and stayed until late afternoon. A main concern was to keep the fire from jumping into the nearby woods. The crews created a controlled backfire around the perimeter to isolate the fire and stop its spread, Chief Sicard said.
The fire was officially considered out as of 3 p.m. Tuesday afternoon. But Range Control crews kept watch on smoldering areas through Tuesday night and into Wednesday to be sure flames did not break out again.
The Harvard Fire Department assisted in gaining control of the fire by lighting backfires to prevent further spread of the brush fire. (Photo by Robert Curran)
