A brush fire burning near the end of Mattison Hollow Road in Berlin has drawn firefighters from New York, Vermont and Massachusetts, with about 60 crew members battling the flames through Sunday night into Monday. The fire broke out in steep, rocky terrain along the Taconic Crest Trail in Berlin, and officials said no homes or residents were ever in danger.
Crews first got word of a woods fire around 11:30 a.m. Sunday, and firefighters reached the scene about 35 minutes later, according to News10. Crews from departments across the region were called in to help, with many firefighters working into the evening before a large contingent pulled back around 6 p.m.
Roughly 13 departments were expected to return to the fire line Monday to continue the fight, per the same News10 report. Additional departments from Vermont were also responding on the Massachusetts side of the border, reflecting just how far the fire had spread across the rugged, wooded terrain that marks the meeting point of the three states.
Acreage and Containment Figures
Exactly how big the fire has grown remains a bit murky. The New York State Department of Environmental Conservation said the blaze had spread to about 15 acres and was burning through layers of dead leaves and twigs in the steep, rocky ground along the Taconic Crest Trail, News10 reported. A local fire chief, however, told the outlet that the fire had burned all night and was expected to have spread to more than 17 acres by Monday.
The Berkshire Eagle reported that, as of about 10 p.m. Sunday, the fire had spread to an estimated 15 acres and was zero percent contained, citing WNYT NewsChannel 13.
Mutual Aid Pours In From Across the Border
The response has stretched across jurisdictions on both sides of the state line. Crews from Hoosick Falls, New York, and Pownal, Vermont, responded with utility terrain vehicles and personnel, the Berkshire Eagle reported, while the Rensselaer Fire Department sent a drone crew to help survey the fire from above.
According to CBS6 Albany, Pownal Fire responded with its Brush 1-7 apparatus, a UTV and a crew of 10 firefighters, and the Hoosick Fire Department sent Utility 16 and ATV 16 on mutual aid to the fire in Cherry Plain, within the Town of Berlin.
No Threat to Homes, but Dry Conditions a Factor
Despite the fire's size, officials repeatedly stressed that the danger to people and property was minimal. The Berlin fire chief said no structures were at risk and that residents were not in danger, and rangers remained on scene overnight to monitor the blaze, per News10's report.
Fire officials pointed to a mix of weather conditions that have made the region more vulnerable to brush fires recently. News10 reported that air pressure, dry leaves and little-to-no rain worsened conditions at the Berlin fire, while the Lebanon Valley Protective Association separately said high pressure, dry leaves and a lack of precipitation were raising the risk of brush fires in some areas, according to the Berkshire Eagle.
Drought conditions can affect water supplies, agriculture and soil moisture, according to drought.gov. New York's Department of Environmental Conservation also maintains a statewide Fire Danger Map with fire-danger ratings, per the DEC.
With crews from roughly 13 departments expected back on the line Monday and rangers having stayed through the night, the firefight along the Taconic Crest Trail was continuing into the new week. Exactly when the fire will be fully contained or extinguished has not yet been determined.
