SAUGUS — The Breakheart Reservation will remain closed through at least Wednesday due to ongoing brush fires in the park that have ripped through more than 10 percent of its land since breaking out Tuesday.
On Sunday, officials utilized a Massachusetts Air National Guard helicopter to airdrop water onto the brush fires that have torn through the park since breaking out Tuesday.
The fires began around 5 p.m. Tuesday and have forced the park to remain closed for most of the ensuing days, save for Wednesday morning, when the park briefly reopened. On Sunday afternoon, firefighters had made “serious progress” and were working to determine if the blazes had reached a stage where ground operations could be ceased, according to Saugus Fire Captain Tom Kaminski.
“Things are looking good,” Kaminski said in a brief telephone interview.
Much of the progress made on Sunday was a result of the water drops, Kaminski said. The Massachusetts Air National Guard helicopter was used to collect water from Sluice Pond in Lynn that was then flown to the reservation.
“The water dumps are going to make a huge difference on the firefighting efforts up there,” he said.
The blazes have burned more than 10 percent of the park — 70 acres — since Tuesday evening, Kaminski said. The extreme drought conditions facing the region played a significant role in the fires’ fast spread.
“It’s definitely bigger due to the dry season,” he said. “It’s a tinder box up there.”
Kaminski confirmed that officials are still investigating the brush fires as suspicious, in part because it was difficult to imagine the blazes starting any other way with no recent lightning and no power lines in the park.
“It does seem suspicious, there were multiple fires starting at the same time,” he said. “If it’s not somebody starting them either on purpose or by accident I can’t imagine [what it would be].”
The biggest help in putting out the large fires would be rain, Kaminski said.
“Everybody’s just keeping their fingers crossed for rain, that would go a long way,” he said. “I can’t remember a summer as dry as this one.”
Charlie McKenna can be reached at [email protected]
