A large brush fire is burning in Salem and Lynn, Massachusetts, Sunday morning, after sparking visible fire in the woods late Saturday.
There is no immediate need for any evacuations, Fire Chief Alan Dionne said Sunday, but he didn't anticipate the fire being put out anytime soon.
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The fire was burning off Highland Avenue, behind a Walmart store. Flames could be seen in the woods, and it sent smoke into the area.
"The brushfire has been smoldering for the past day creating smoky conditions in the surrounding area," the city said Sunday morning.
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The fire comes as thousands of visitors flock to the city every day for Halloween festivities.
The flames seemed to be concentrated in a wooded area between Highland Avenue and Spring Pond, near the Lynn city line.
"The fire's been burning over my shoulder here but not just in this one area, we have four different fires that are surrounding the neighborhoods in this area and Lynn has some on their side," Dionne said. "Presently, state forestry has two units up here, we have four pump companies and an aerial ladder company, we’re deploying a drone shortly to figure out what areas exactly are involved."
Dionne said there have not been any evacuations as of yet and if they can stay ahead of the fire there will not be any.
"I don’t anticipate this fires going out anytime soon. We do have it somewhat contained, there are not a lot of structures in the area so hopefully there is nothing threatened. At this time we’ve probably already burned 60 to 80 acres," Dionne added.
Flames were near homes in a condo development along Olde Village Drive, leaving residents there on edge as they waited for firefighters to come and extinguish the fire.
Massachusetts has been under a red flag warning for a high fire danger, with the state's Department of Fire Services noting that the critical fire conditions meant, "Any fires that start may spread rapidly and become difficult to extinguish."
