This story will be updated throughout the day.
Latest update 3:30 p.m.: Butternut Fire officials: As rain continues, wildfire conditions improve. Public asked to suspend donations
As of 2:30 p.m., the day’s rain has continued to slow the rate of the Butternut Fire spread, allowing crews to “make great progress cutting fire breaks through the woods to control the expansion,” said Lt. Brian Mead, public information officer for the Great Barrington Fire Department, who was joined at the news conference by Deputy Chief Fire Warden Andy Regan and State Fire Marshall Jon Davine.
“We stated it before and we’re going to state it again: those control lines are holding,” he said.
Although the rain is suppressing the smoke and keeping the fire growth at bay, local air quality will continue to be affected by the wildfire, Mead said. He advocated that persons with allergies and respiratory issues take precautions.
According to Mead, area residents can expect lingering smoke “for the foreseeable future.”
Even with the progress, he said local, state and federal agencies will remain a unified command force for the incident, including the Office of the Governor.
On November 22, smaller crews will be assigned to the wildfire while officials “focus on monitoring and reporting,” Mead said, adding that those crews will be mostly comprised of local resources with assistance from park services.
“As of now, no homes are in danger,” he said. “However, overnight patrols and monitoring will continue, and resources will be dispatched as needed.”
Due to the inclement weather, the department still cannot ascertain the size of the fire and its containment but expects it to be around 1,200 acres, Mead said.
Additionally, citing the community’s immense support, he said donations from the public are suspended, urging citizens to instead contribute their purchased goods to local food pantries in advance of the Thanksgiving holiday.
Mead was adamant that the exact cause and location of the start of the wildfire remains unknown but confirmed it did not begin at Camp Eisner and the department is not aware that the blaze was ignited on the Appalachian Trail. Additionally, a section of the affected Appalachian Trail has been closed.
Ski Butternut was never in true danger as the fire was kept at a safe distance from the landmark facility, Mead said.
No further live news conferences are scheduled moving forward unless the situation changes but the Great Barrington Fire Department’s Facebook page will provide updates.
Latest update 11:45 a.m.: Things are looking better for Butternut Fire curtailment: Minimum new fire activity since rain began
Great Barrington —As of 11 a.m., Lt. Brian Mead, public information officer for the Great Barrington Fire Department, provided “good news” for the communities in the path of the Butternut Fire.
“Ground patrols are finding minimum new fire activity since this morning’s rain began,” he said of the approximately 120 crew members fighting the blaze. Mead provided the update alongside Deputy Chief Fire Warden Andy Regan, State Fire Marshall Jon Davine.
Although Mead said the rain won’t extinguish the fire, it will help curtail its spread. However, with the inclement weather impeding the department’s drone launches, he said the amount of fire containment has been difficult to calculate but “any growth has been minimal.” He estimated a total of 1,200 acres to be involved in the Butternut Fire.
The rain has provided the department with the opportunity to make “significant progress” in their firefighting efforts, Mead said, but the area remains dry and the rain is not substantial.
“Our focus remains the protection of life and property,” Mead said, adding patrols and residents alerted the department of new overnight fires that were immediately extinguished. However, that encroachment remains at about a quarter of a mile, he said.
According to Mead, “there remains no immediate threat to the residents.”
He had no update on the one injured individual from the wildfire and no other injuries have been reported nor is the department aware of any resulting structure damage.
Fire breaks are being cut currently to stop the spread of the fire and those control lines are holding, Mead said of the ongoing process expected to be “time and labor intensive.”
“We are asking for your patience and we’re also asking for your help,” he said. “Avoid the area, avoid the fire and leave the firefighting to the professionals.”
Mead again urged area residents to remain vigilant, obeying the fire bans that are in place.
“This is a major wildfire in a season of wildfires, and we don’t need another wildfire,” he said.
Video by Leslee Bassman.
Previous update: 9:45 a.m. : Butternut Fire claims one injury overnight, rain helping to ease wildfire but blaze growth persists.
Great Barrington — At a press conference held on Thursday, Nov. 21 at 9 a.m., Lt. Brian Mead, public information officer for the Great Barrington Fire Department, said that one individual was injured overnight “on the mountain” as a result of the Butternut Fire raging just uphill from the town. That person was not a firefighter, and he did not know the extent of the injuries involved but that the injuries “were not life threatening.”
“Please, again, avoid the area and avoid the fire, leaving the firefighting to the professionals,” Mead urged.
Although the rains early this morning helped deter the wildfire’s spread, he said the department saw “some overnight growth, nothing like what we saw overnight yesterday.” From November 19 to November 20, the wildfire expanded tenfold.
However, since yesterday, patrols and residents notified officials of fire “activity” occurring less than a quarter mile from homes, Mead said, but “that activity was stopped in its tracks.”
He said the wildfire is “zero percent contained” as of 9:15 a.m. That statistic is tempered by the inability for the department to fly drones for accurate geomapping of the region due to the inclement weather.
More than 120 personnel are on the ground today to combat the wildfire, with support from state and federal partner agencies. Four crews are out this morning, cutting lines through the forest to put the fire out but there is no immediate danger or need to evacuate at this point, Mead said.
“Today’s rain will help to some extent, but it will not extinguish the fire,” he said. “We will remain on scene for the days and weeks to come.”
Mead pushed for the public to adhere to the outdoor fire ban in effect.
“The last thing we need is another preventable fire,” Mead said.
Video by Leslee Bassman
In a Facebook post at 7:30 a.m. on Thursday, Nov. 21 the Great Barrington Fire Department announced that, overnight, the department was dispatched to three locations for concerns of the Butternut Fire impinging homes.
The department announced that in all of the calls the fires were stopped and there have been no damages to homes:
“In one instance, the fire was allowed to continue to burn in a controlled state to a driveway, at which point it self-extinguished. These calls were all reported by units patrolling the area just for this.”
The department also announced that there would be fire engines and apparatus staged throughout town from other departments, which will include structural firefighting crews.
