Waumbek
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From this past week's Littleton Courier (note that 27 firefighters continued on the job after news reports said the fire was largely contained):
The Beaten Path
Lucy Brook forest fire likely largest in WMNF history
By MIKE DICKERMAN
By historical White Mountain standards, it pales in comparison to some of the great conflagrations of the late 19th and early 20th centuries. Still, the recent forest fire that burned nearly 140 acres of woodland in the Conway-Bartlett area is being called one of the biggest, if not the largest, ever to occur on White Mountain National Forest land.
The fire of undetermined origin was discovered on Sunday, Nov. 14, and burned for much of the next five days before being finally snuffed out by a host of local and federal firefighters.
WMNF fire officer Dave Govatski said the fire burned approximately 139 acres of timberland on a ridge just north of Lucy Brook in the Town of Bartlett. The fire was located about 500 feet north of Lucy Brook and a similar distance north of the Attitash Trail, a Forest Service footpath connecting West Side Road in Conway with Bear Notch Road in Bartlett. The lower section of this trail on the West Side Road end passes by popular Diana’s Bath.
Initially, local firefighters teamed up with WMNF crews to combat the Lucy Brook fire. As many as 27 Forest Service firefighters kept up the battle right through the end of the week, even though the fire was deemed “contained” by 4 p.m. on Wednesday, Nov. 17.
Govatski said Forest officials would probably never be able to determine how the fire started. “There are lots of people in the woods this time of year, hikers and hunters included,” said Govatski. Whether someone accidentally let a campfire get out of control, or whether it was started by some other means, natural or man-made, cannot be determined at this time, he said.
Compared to the great forest fires of the James Everell Henry logging era before and after the last turn of the century, the Lucy Brook blaze was pretty minor in terms of acreage lost to fire. Certainly the great Zealand Valley fires of 1886 and 1903 and the tremendous Owl’s Head fire of 1907 were much greater in scope, destroying tens of thousands of acres of forest, including much virgin timber. These great fires, however, went a long ways toward convincing the public that the vast forests and watersheds of the White Mountains were in great need of immediate protection, and the result just a few years later was the Weeks Act, which established the first federally-managed forest in the East. Since the creation of the White Mountain National Forest in 1911, forest fire damage has been minimal in the Whites.
With well over 100 acres burned, Govatski is pretty sure the Lucy Brook fire is one for the record books. “I’m calling this the biggest forest fire, at least in terms of acreage, since the White Mountain National Forest was created,” said Govatski. “It’s highly unusual for us to have a fire of this size.”
The last forest fire of any great size to occur in the Whites was the October 1984 Table Mountain fire (also in Bartlett) that consumed a little more than 100 acres and took six days to fully contain. Two days into their effort, firefighters thought they had this blaze under control, but it managed to jump over a containment line and continued burning for another four days. Because the fire started in close proximity to the east end of the Attitash Trail, officials speculated that it might have been touched off by a careless hiker.
More recently, the dry summer of 2001 saw its share of White Mountains forest fires, with an early August blaze on the slopes of Mount Madison probably the most memorable (and visible) of that season. Only an acre of vegetation burned, but because the fire was just below treeline at approximately 4,500 feet elevation, it was an extremely tough one to fight due to its remoteness and the lack of available water nearby.
That same summer saw forest fires also burn varying amounts of vegetation on Mount Pemigewasset (Indian Head) in Lincoln, Mount Paugus in Albany and Iron Mountain in Jackson.
A rash of small fires also plagued the state in 2002, but only a couple of minor blazes impacted the Whites. Black Cap Mountain in North Conway lost three acres in a lightning-ignited blaze, while a 1.5-acre fire was fought on Shelburne Moriah Mountain in Gorham, not far from the Rattle River/Appalachian Trail.
The Beaten Path
Lucy Brook forest fire likely largest in WMNF history
By MIKE DICKERMAN
By historical White Mountain standards, it pales in comparison to some of the great conflagrations of the late 19th and early 20th centuries. Still, the recent forest fire that burned nearly 140 acres of woodland in the Conway-Bartlett area is being called one of the biggest, if not the largest, ever to occur on White Mountain National Forest land.
The fire of undetermined origin was discovered on Sunday, Nov. 14, and burned for much of the next five days before being finally snuffed out by a host of local and federal firefighters.
WMNF fire officer Dave Govatski said the fire burned approximately 139 acres of timberland on a ridge just north of Lucy Brook in the Town of Bartlett. The fire was located about 500 feet north of Lucy Brook and a similar distance north of the Attitash Trail, a Forest Service footpath connecting West Side Road in Conway with Bear Notch Road in Bartlett. The lower section of this trail on the West Side Road end passes by popular Diana’s Bath.
Initially, local firefighters teamed up with WMNF crews to combat the Lucy Brook fire. As many as 27 Forest Service firefighters kept up the battle right through the end of the week, even though the fire was deemed “contained” by 4 p.m. on Wednesday, Nov. 17.
Govatski said Forest officials would probably never be able to determine how the fire started. “There are lots of people in the woods this time of year, hikers and hunters included,” said Govatski. Whether someone accidentally let a campfire get out of control, or whether it was started by some other means, natural or man-made, cannot be determined at this time, he said.
Compared to the great forest fires of the James Everell Henry logging era before and after the last turn of the century, the Lucy Brook blaze was pretty minor in terms of acreage lost to fire. Certainly the great Zealand Valley fires of 1886 and 1903 and the tremendous Owl’s Head fire of 1907 were much greater in scope, destroying tens of thousands of acres of forest, including much virgin timber. These great fires, however, went a long ways toward convincing the public that the vast forests and watersheds of the White Mountains were in great need of immediate protection, and the result just a few years later was the Weeks Act, which established the first federally-managed forest in the East. Since the creation of the White Mountain National Forest in 1911, forest fire damage has been minimal in the Whites.
With well over 100 acres burned, Govatski is pretty sure the Lucy Brook fire is one for the record books. “I’m calling this the biggest forest fire, at least in terms of acreage, since the White Mountain National Forest was created,” said Govatski. “It’s highly unusual for us to have a fire of this size.”
The last forest fire of any great size to occur in the Whites was the October 1984 Table Mountain fire (also in Bartlett) that consumed a little more than 100 acres and took six days to fully contain. Two days into their effort, firefighters thought they had this blaze under control, but it managed to jump over a containment line and continued burning for another four days. Because the fire started in close proximity to the east end of the Attitash Trail, officials speculated that it might have been touched off by a careless hiker.
More recently, the dry summer of 2001 saw its share of White Mountains forest fires, with an early August blaze on the slopes of Mount Madison probably the most memorable (and visible) of that season. Only an acre of vegetation burned, but because the fire was just below treeline at approximately 4,500 feet elevation, it was an extremely tough one to fight due to its remoteness and the lack of available water nearby.
That same summer saw forest fires also burn varying amounts of vegetation on Mount Pemigewasset (Indian Head) in Lincoln, Mount Paugus in Albany and Iron Mountain in Jackson.
A rash of small fires also plagued the state in 2002, but only a couple of minor blazes impacted the Whites. Black Cap Mountain in North Conway lost three acres in a lightning-ignited blaze, while a 1.5-acre fire was fought on Shelburne Moriah Mountain in Gorham, not far from the Rattle River/Appalachian Trail.
