MILTON, Mass. — Massachusetts is at an elevated risk for fires.
The state is experiencing moderate to severe drought conditions, meaning there’s a danger for brush and wildfires.
The Chief Fire Warden of DCR Dave Celino said Tuesday that the state started seeing fires as early as January this year.
Celino said 76 wildfires have already scorched the state since the beginning of 2025.
“Our concern is that the drought conditions from the Fall of ‘24 never really let up,” he said.
Back in October and November 2024, thousands of acres of land burned because of brush fires.
Celino said all the fuels were drying out, including large, dead logs which are all susceptible to burning. October started seeing an uptick in fires with 220 burned by the end of the month.
In total, Celino said there were almost 663 fires across the state with 4,000 acres burned by the end of the year.
“It was an unprecedented event for us in modern terms. It’s not like New England hasn’t been here before,” he said.
Typically, Massachusetts averages 15 to 20 wildfires in the months of October and November.
Now the concern for fires is back. Celino said, “the fuels that were a problem for us in the fall are now free of snow pack and have not really absorbed a lot of moisture, we’ve not had a lot of rain. And so we’re seeing these fuels as the temperatures warm, we’re getting these drying days with some drying winds, and now we’re starting to see fire activity pick up for what is our traditional fire season in the Spring.”
In Massachusetts local fire departments have jurisdiction over these fires even on state land.
DCR Forest Fire Control provides a specialized wildland fire mutual aid asset for them.
They are made up 13 District Fire Wardens and 48 seasonal firefighters in the spring who started this week.
“One of the big boosts in horsepower that they bring is that we get our fire towers manned out there and that really helps us in early detection to get eyes on smoke that is popping up,” said Celino.
Celino also said awareness of surroundings is key to avoid these fires from sparking.
“Temperatures, humidity, and the winds that we’re expecting today are all elements that are going to strongly influence wildfire behavior today.”
Celino reminds to be very aware during open burning season.
Even if a permit is issues, he said, make sure you have water at the ready and separate your brush pile from your burn pile.
RELATED:
Download the FREE Boston 25 News app for breaking news alerts.
Follow Boston 25 News on Facebook and Twitter. | Watch Boston 25 News NOW
©2025 Cox Media Group
