Newport firefighters contain Bradford Road brush fire amid dry conditions

Dry conditions helped turn a Bradford Road brush fire into a reminder that spring wildfire danger can arrive early in Newport. Firefighters contained the incident this afternoon, and no injuries were reported.

The fire broke out during a stretch of weather that New Hampshire forestry officials say can raise the risk fast: rising temperatures, low relative humidity, gusty winds and over-wintered grasses and leaves that dry out before green-up. State officials have warned that wildfire season can begin early in the spring, and they say common activities such as yard cleanup, spring cookouts and careless disposal of wood stove ash can start fires that spread quickly.

Newport Fire-EMS said its Division of Fire Operations has 31 personnel, made up of full-time staff and call force. The department operates a rescue pumper, two engines, a ladder truck, a utility vehicle and the chief’s car, and it provides automatic mutual aid to Claremont and Lempster while responding to first alarm assignments in Croydon, Goshen and Sunapee.

The Bradford Road fire came just two weeks after another Newport-area brush fire near Sand Hill Road, close to the Croydon town boundary, where crews found a wind-driven fire spreading across dry fuels. That April 12 incident was elevated to a first alarm and then a second alarm, bringing mutual aid from Claremont, Croydon, Newbury, Unity, Goshen, New London, Springfield, Grantham, Sunapee, Lempster and Washington. No casualties were reported.

State foresters have spent years warning that the danger is not theoretical. In the last two decades, New Hampshire averaged 285 wildfires affecting 221 acres each year, and more than 80% of the state is forested. The New Hampshire Forest Protection Bureau marked April 14-20, 2024 as Wildfire Awareness Week, underscoring how quickly conditions can change in the state’s wooded communities.

Town officials say there is no cost to obtain a burn permit in Newport, but state guidance says residents should check the daily fire danger rating before burning anything outside. That rating is posted each weekday morning, with the weekend classification posted Friday afternoon. For a town of about 6,500 people that sits at the center of Sullivan County, the margin for error in dry weather can be thin.