DCR Extends Breakheart Reservation Closure As Fires Still Burn

SAUGUS, MA — The Breakheart Reservation in Saugus and Wakefield will remain closed until at least Thursday as wildfires continue to burn in the area, the Department of Conservation and Recreation announced on Sunday.

This announcement came after crews escalated their response this weekend, bringing in National Guard helicopters to fly a series of water-drop routes on the fire.

The helicopters operated through much of the afternoon on Sunday, pulling water from Sluice Pond in Lynn and ferrying it to the Breakheart Reservation.

The reservation was initially due to reopen on Monday after a DCR announcement last week.

The now extended park closure followed a series of intermittent closures after fires first ignited last Tuesday, as crews periodically beat back flames only to see conditions worsen.

Contacted on Friday afternoon, Department of Conservation and Recreation Chief Fire Warden Dave Celino told Patch that some of the sudden flare-ups could be attributed to fluctuating weather conditions.

Cooler morning temperatures, Celino said, have actually been a bad omen for local crews, indicating a likelihood for lower humidity levels later in the afternoon.

Humidity has often bottomed out between 1 p.m. and 3 p.m. in recent days, Celino said.

“We know that any fire that we get especially now in these conditions is going to be active,” Celino said.

The fires in the Breakheart Reservation have sent smoke over neighboring communities. They also come amid a historic summer season in Massachusetts, where a number of large fires have scorched tracts of land in Townsend, Rockport, Lynn, Natick and Marlborough, among other locations.

The National Guard was previously involved in the fire response in Rockport last week, helping crews finally contain flames there in recent days.