Great Barrington and Sheffield — During the morning of Monday, November 25, the Great Barrington Fire Department reported that operations at the Butternut Fire site continued with crew members from multiple Massachusetts Department of Conservation and Recreation departments.
Throughout the day, crew members reinforced the perimeter of the fire and continued to map and monitor the site.
The command post has been relocated to Ski Butternut.
The department reported that, overnight, Great Barrington and Sheffield Fire Departments had responded to multiple calls concerning flare-ups of the fire. However, all of the instances of flare-ups were within the Butternut Fire containment area.
The Great Barrington Fire Department responded to a pickup truck fire on Division Street overnight, but it was unrelated to the Butternut Fire itself.
In an announcement at 8 p.m., the department reported that the Massachusetts State Police Air Wing surveyed the fire area with infrared imaging in order to identify hotspots, and that data showed there were less hotspots identified than on Sunday, November 24.
During the day, fire crews were able to strengthen containment lines in several areas, and existing containment lines were still holding steady.
Patrols and observations will continue through the night. We do realize and acknowledge there is a smell of smoke in the area – this is expected and will linger for the days to come. Air quality will continue to be monitored, if there is deterioration in the air quality, Department of Public Health will provide updated guidance. We do expect that some of the observed hotspots may show as a glow or a flareup in the affected area. This is expected and you do not need to be alarmed. Tomorrow with the expected (and welcomed) rain, we will again be operating in with a smaller crew and focus on observing.
Meanwhile, Ski Butternut announced on its Facebook page that they do not anticipate any disruptions to the start of their season:
We will begin snowmaking when the temperatures allow, and the forecast looks favorable. The emergency response team has moved its command post to our parking lot and we kindly ask the public not to interfere with their operations.
However, the resort did not announce an opening date for its ski season.
In the evening, during the Berkshire Hills Regional School District’s presentation on potential plans for Monument Mountain Regional High School, a person who only identified herself as Rachel and said she was a teacher at the high school, wrote comments about the fire via Zoom chat.
The written comments were read out loud at the meeting:
The recent wildfire caused very poor air in the [high school] building for the better part of a day. We were very lucky that it wasn’t longer, but we’re in a new reality with the climate and wildfires. Students and staff had headaches, stomach aches and other smoke inhalation symptoms. My son, who is in the middle school, had no problems in [the newer school building].
