Volunteer firefighters from four towns responded quickly and effectively Sunday afternoon to extinguish a fast-moving brush fire near the West Tisbury School on a blustery day.
The fire burned between an acre and a half to two acres of forested land between the Island Children’s School on Halcyon Way and the West Tisbury School, West Tisbury fire chief Manuel Estrella 3rd told the Gazette. The fire started in a mulch pile that combusted, Chief Estrella said. There were no injuries or damage to property.
Quick response by volunteer firefighters on Barnes Road in Oak Bluffs Wednesday night saved both a summer home and a seven and a half foot triceratops skull. The skull is owned by Dr. Henry Kriegstein, a collector of rare fossils.
Fire personnel from Oak Bluffs, Edgartown, Tisbury and West Tisbury were called to a house fire in Oak Bluffs Wednesday night.
The cause of the Monday evening fire was accidental, Oak Bluffs fire chief John Rose said. The source was a pile of construction debris.
The Grey Barn Farm stand has been closed following a fire in the creamery late Friday. "We’ve closed the farmstand for the foreseeable future. Also . . . we won’t be doing tours anymore,” owner Eric Glasgow said.
The combination of dry air and gusty winds will enhance the risk for fires across the state, including on the Vineyard, the Massachusetts Emergency Management Agency has announced.
The National Weather Service has issued a special weather statement warning of the increased threat.
“Local Fire Weather officials have advised that fine fuels, grasses and leaf litter, will be very receptive for ignition. In fact any fire across unshaded fine fuels can rapidly spread in these gusty conditions,” the statement said.