Tinderbox-dry conditions and gusty winds fueled fast-moving brush fires that scorched approximately 13 acres of woodlands in Exeter and another 2½ acres in nearby Fremont on Monday and Tuesday.
Exeter Deputy Fire Chief Jason Fritz described the stubborn Exeter blaze, which kept firefighters from more than a dozen communities busy for the past two days, as the worst that he’s seen in his 17 years with the department.
The fire was sparked on Monday in a wooded and swampy area between Pine Road in Brentwood and Louisburg Circle off Route 111-A in Exeter. Firefighters battled the flames overnight and into Tuesday as the fire continued to flare up and spread through the drought-stricken area.
“Everything is so dry. It’s just tough because it’ll get into an old stump or a root ball and it’ll hide. We’ll go by, and if we see it smoking, we’ll put it out, but it’s so deep in there that it pops back up,” Fritz said.
New Hampshire forest rangers have been assisting firefighters from across the region as they worked to knock down the flames to keep it from spreading further. No homes or other structures have been threatened by the Exeter fire. The exact cause had not yet been determined by Tuesday afternoon.
One of the most challenging aspects of fighting the brush fire in a wooded area was access, Fritz said.
“This involved a lot of swamp. The fire has gone through the swamp because everything is so dry. You might be in a dry spot, but then 15 feet away you’re on squishy ground that’s probably usually underwater. Then you go another 30 or 40 feet and now you’re in standing water. Some of the guys last night trekked across up to their knees in the swamp,” Fritz said.
Fremont blaze
Fremont Fire Chief Rick Butler was helping at the Exeter fire scene on Tuesday morning when he had to rush back home after a brush fire broke out along Scribner Road in the area of Bassett Lane and spread rapidly just before 10 a.m.
The Scribner Road fire burned about 2½ acres in Fremont on Tuesday morning.
jason schreiber/union leader correspondent
The fire burned about 2½ acres of woods. At one point the flames reached an area near a stone wall along the side of Scribner Road, and as the winds picked up, thick smoke blew across the road, which was blocked by fire trucks and other emergency vehicles.
“The wind just continues to push it, and obviously everything is so dry,” Butler said.
Marty Generous and his wife, Cindy Crane, were on edge as the brush fire burned across the street from their 29-acre farm where they keep horses, goats and chickens.
Crane moved one of their horses that was closest to the scene away from the road to keep it safe as they weren’t sure which direction the fire would travel.
“It is very scary, particularly with the leaves at this time of year. I really hope this drought ends,” Crane said.
Firefighters remained on the scene of the Fremont blaze until just after 2 p.m. to make sure the fire didn’t reignite.
Tuesday’s blaze was the first significant brush fire of the season in Fremont. Butler said he’s hopeful the rain that’s expected to move into the region on Thursday will help ease the dry conditions.
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