Chilmark firefighters extinguished a brush fire Sunday evening on the outskirts of Quansoo Preserve, which local officials believed started from someone burning a Christmas tree on the beach.
Chilmark Fire Chief Jeremy Bradshaw said the department responded at about 7 pm, and while a road into the preserve was blocked, two all-terrain vehicles were able to access the area and put out the flames quickly. But not before an acre-and-a-half burned.
“It was cooking pretty good,” Bradshaw said of the fire. “We had a quick response and everything went well.”
He thanked the Tisbury Fire Department for assisting with mutual aid.
Bradshaw said that after an initial investigation, firefighters found the remains of a burned tree at the bank of the dunes. He said that it appears that visitors had a fire on the beach close to the dunes and flames leapt up the bank and ignited the grass.
The Chilmark chief said that they don’t know who set the fire, but they are investigating. The search could include reviewing surveillance video. He noted that someone would have had to walk to the beach, with the access road to the preserve closed.
Bradshaw reminded residents that while the Island has had damp weather as of late, it has been a dry winter and the Island — and rest of the state — is in a significant drought with a heightened level of wildfire risk. The chief encouraged the public to remain cautious when lighting a fire.
It has also been very windy. Common sense apparently, cannot be taught.
And it seems responsible behavior cannot be taught or perhaps skipped a generation. They started a fire and then just left?!?
Thank you to the firefighters for their quick response. I hope you find out who acted with such disregard and make them go fight the big fires out west.
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