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

He also announced that the state will receive federal funds to help cover the ongoing costs of the fire response. It’s the first time Connecticut has been approved for federal fire response funds, according to Lamont.

“This is one of the most significant brush fires Connecticut has experienced in recent memory,” Lamont said in a statement.

The state of emergency will allow local and state officials tools to “monitor and limit the potential fires” and to respond to additional fires.The brush fire, which started Monday night in Berlin in central Connecticut, has spread into part of Meriden. Officials say dry conditions, plus a lack of rain in recent weeks, has allowed the fire to grow. About 50 personnel responded to the scene on Friday, including help from New Hampshire, Rhode Island, Maine and Massachusetts, according to state environmental officials.

The state estimates the fire response on Lamentation Mountain will exceed $330,000, triggering eligibility for up to 75% reimbursement of municipal and state costs from a grant program from the Federal Emergency Management Agency.

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

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

“We know this is an expensive operation, and that’s really going to be helpful to allow us to continue to request additional mutual aid resources in, to help stabilize this incident,” Turner said. “So we thank the governor’s office for helping facilitate that request, FEMA Region One, as well as the U.S. Forest Service, who also has to approve that request.”

Response interrupted by drones, civilians 

Crews fighting the blaze encountered some challenges, as officials reported hikers, drones and ATVs near the fire were interrupting efforts.

“We had to ground our aircraft multiple times due to aircraft in our flight area. So there’s that temporary flight restriction in place,” said John Massirio, Berlin’s fire chief. “We ask that pilots respect that, drone operators respect that.”The fire is secured on the north side of the ridge line, but there are concerns about spreading on the southern edge of the fire.

“Every time we have an incursion and have to land an aircraft, the startup time on an aircraft is 30 to 40 minutes. So you know, we have four or five incursions, we’re losing over two hours that we can be dropping water on the ground,” Massiro said. “It’s hampering our efforts to effectively put this under control in a reasonable amount of time.”

Smaller fires across CT

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

Tom Trask, a forest protection supervisor, said there were multiple other fires in Connecticut that were no more than 10 acres in size Friday morning, but the fire in Oxford is experiencing moderate spread.

“We are also working with local resources in Rhode Island, Massachusetts to fill our need for more appliances such as hoses, nozzles and pumps. All resources are coming together appropriately,” Trask said. “We are doing what we need to to get this fire under control.”

For now, federal funding will only be headed toward the Berlin fire response, according to Turner, the emergency management director.

“We were informed late last night that [FEMA funding] had been approved for Connecticut specific to this incident,” Turner said. “We understand there are other wildfires going on, but that approval was specific to the Hawthorne fire.”

Elevated fire risk could continue

The lack of significant rainfall in the state following August’s downpours is contributing to elevated fire danger, according to Connecticut Public meteorologist Garett Argianas.

“With the dry weather, we have a dry ground, and there’s a lot of dry brush,” Argianas said. “And now, of course, all these leaves are coming down and all those things can burn very easily.”

Low relative humidity and high winds and breezes are other contributing factors, Argianas said. He said Connecticut isn’t out of the woods yet, either.

“We’ve been in this stretch of very extreme dry weather, and there are no big storms in the forecast,” he said. “Until we get a good soaking rain, this fire danger will continue.”

Argianas said while dry conditions continue, Connecticut residents should be vigilant in extinguishing campfires, backyard fire pits and cigarettes, and should avoid intentionally burning brush and leaves entirely.