Governor declares state of emergency due to fire risk

As the Connecticut National Guard continued to drop water on the Hawthorne Fire in Berlin on Friday, Gov. Ned Lamont declared a state of emergency due to dry weather conditions and the risk of further fires.

He also announced that the state would receive federal funding to cover the ongoing costs of fighting the fire. Lamont said this is the first time Connecticut has been eligible for federal firefighting funding.

“This is one of the worst wildfires Connecticut has experienced in recent memory,” Lamont said in a statement.

The state of emergency will allow local and state officials to “monitor and contain potential fires” and respond to further fires. The brush fire that broke out Monday evening in Berlin, central Connecticut, has spread to parts of Meriden. Officials say dry conditions and a lack of rain in recent weeks caused the fire to spread. According to state environmental officials, about 50 responders were on site Friday, including responders from New Hampshire, Rhode Island, Maine and Massachusetts.

The state estimates the Lamentation Mountain fire impact will exceed $330,000, making it eligible for reimbursement of up to 75% of local and state costs from a Federal Emergency Management Agency grant program.

“I thank FEMA and the Biden-Harris Administration for their rapid response to my request and their continued partnership with Connecticut to ensure we can support the resources we need to keep this area safe,” said Lamont.

Bill Turner, state emergency management director, was grateful for the effort.

“We know this is an expensive operation and this will be really helpful so we can continue to request additional mutual aid resources to help stabilize this incident,” Turner said. “We therefore thank the Governor’s Office for supporting this application, FEMA Region One, and the US Forest Service, which must also approve this application.”

Response interrupted by drones and civilians

Crews fighting the fire faced some challenges as officials reported hikers, drones and ATVs near the fire disrupting efforts.

“We have had to ground our aircraft several times due to aircraft in our flight area. So there is a temporary flight restriction,” said John Massirio, the Berlin fire chief. “We ask the pilots to respect that and the drone operators respect that.” The fire is contained on the north side of the ridgeline, but there are concerns about spread on the southern edge of the fire.

“Every time we have an incident and need to land an aircraft, the take-off time of an aircraft is 30 to 40 minutes. You know, we have four or five collapses, we lose over two hours because we can drop water on the ground,” Massiro said. “It hinders our efforts to bring this under effective control in a timely manner.”

(From left) Brianna DeKorte of Middletown, Samantha Clark of Bristol and Dustin Holroyd of Bristol watch as a helicopter brings water from Silver Lake to drip onto the Lamentation Mountain fire. DeKorte said, “You see that in the news out of California and things like that, not literally in your own backyard.” Meriden, Connecticut on October 25, 2004. Credit: Mark Mirko | Connecticut Public

Minor fires throughout CT

Connecticut Department of Energy and Environmental Protection officials said some air resources may need to be diverted from Berlin to fight other fires in the state, including one in Oxford, where fallen leaves and dry conditions have created more opportunities for wildfires to spread.

Tom Trask, a forest conservation officer, said there were several other fires in Connecticut Friday morning that were no larger than 10 acres, but the Oxford fire had experienced moderate spread.

“We also work with local resources in Rhode Island, Massachusetts to meet our needs for additional equipment such as hoses, nozzles and pumps. “All resources are coming together appropriately,” Trask said. “We’re doing what we have to do to get this fire under control.”

According to Turner, the emergency management director, the federal funds will initially only be used for firefighting in Berlin.

“We were informed about this last night [FEMA funding] “For Connecticut, a permit was issued specifically for this incident,” Turner said. “We know there are other wildfires, but this permit was specific to the Hawthorne fire.”

The increased risk of fire could still exist

The state’s lack of significant precipitation following August’s downpours is contributing to increased fire danger, according to Connecticut Public meteorologist Garett Argianas.

topicnews · October 26, 2024

Governor declares state of emergency due to fire risk

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topicnews · October 26, 2024

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