Wind and dry conditions create Charlestown fire hazard

10 acres of Charlestown brush land burned on Wednesday

By Will Collette

Richmond Carolina Fire Department photo
Ⓒ provided by WPRI-Providence 

The dry and windy weather that caused a major brushfire in Charlestown yesterday are present again today. 

According to the National Weather Service, no precipitation is forecast until around 3 AM Saturday morning when there is a 30% chance of rain or snow.

Until then, the NWS warns:

ELEVATED FIRE WEATHER CONCERNS TODAY...

The combination of gusty winds and an anomalously dry airmass for March will result in elevated fire weather concerns for all of Connecticut, Massachusetts, and Rhode Island from late morning through late afternoon.

Today, minimum relative humidity values range 20 to 35 percent and winds are gusty from the west/northwest at 35 to 50 mph.

Underscoring the hazard, fire crews from Charlestown and Richmond, aided by DEM and neighboring departments, fought a 10-acre brushfire near the AMTRAK tracks and south of Route 91 on Wednesday.

Though no injuries were reported, the work was arduous and long as firefighters needed to trek through the brush with their equipment to extinguish the fire.

So be careful out there and, of course, you should refrain from any outside burning – and don’t pitch lit cigarettes out your car window, please.