Smoke Alert: Brush Fire Burns In Woods Along Salem, Peabody, Lynn Line

SALEM, MA — North Shore residents may be smelling smoke and seeing a touch of haze in the air early this week as brush fires burn in the woods near the Lynn, Peabody and Salem lines.

Salem officials said a fire has been burning in the woods in that area since last week and may continue to smolder as a historic stretch of dry weather continues across the North Shore.

"There are no immediate dangers to any structures due to how far into the woods the fire is located," Salem officials said on Monday morning. "You may smell smoke from these brush fires until they are entirely extinguished."

The last rain total measuring a "trace" or more in Boston was Aug. 20 — making it the sixth-longest dry stretch of all time in Boston, according to the National Weather Service.

The longest dry spell for Boston on record was 44 days in October and November in 1924.

While the NWS said there is a "slight" chance of showers on Wednesday afternoon, the more meaningful chance of real rain comes on Thursday when a storm currently threatening to turn into a tropical storm in the mid-Atlantic tries to push its way north.

(Scott Souza is a Patch field editor covering Beverly, Danvers, Marblehead, Peabody, Salem and Swampscott. He can be reached at Scott.Souza@Patch.com. X/Twitter: @Scott_Souza.)