Following Red Flag Warning, Westwood Joins Other Towns in Banning Outdoor Fires

Following the Red Flag warnings of November 8th and November 9th issued by the National Weather Service, along with drought conditions expanding in Massachusetts, the Town of Westwood has joined a number of other towns in the Commonwealth that have announced prohibitions on outdoor fires. In Westwood, that prohibition will last at least through next Friday.

“Fire Chief Lund and municipal leaders are prohibiting any outdoor fires at least until Friday, November 15,” reads a statement by the Town of Westwood which it posted to its website.

On November 8th, the Needham Fire Department prohibited all outdoor fires until further notice, due to the risk of their rapid spread and difficulty of controlling them.

Also on November 8th, the Hopkinton Fire Department banned outdoor burning due to elevated wildfire risk. The department plans to keep its ban in place until substantial rainfall reduces fire risks.

The fire departments say they are basing the outdoor fire ban under Section 10.10.2 of the Massachusetts Comprehensive Fire Safety Code which includes all open, recreational, and cooking fires, and other sources of ignition outdoors such as fire pits, chimineas, outdoor fireplaces, and cooking and heating equipment.

“The extreme drought has heightened fire hazards, making open flames or ignition sources especially risky. Ongoing red-flag warnings and strong wind gusts are accelerating the spread of fires. These statewide weather conditions place all Massachusetts communities at an elevated risk for brush fires,” said the Hopkinton Fire Department in a press release.

This year, the number of fires reported in Massachusetts in October numbered about 200, which is about a 1,200 percent increase over the average number of fires for October which is 15. According to Hopkinton Fire Department, preliminary information is that of the 100 fires reported over the last week, all were started by human activity.

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