Berkshire lumber yard ablaze

By John M. Guilfoil, Globe Staff

A large lumber yard in the western Massachusetts town of Lee was engulfed in flames, drawing firefighters from throughout Berkshire County who have so far kept it from spreading into the community’s downtown.

Officials said the blaze at the Dresser-Hull Lumber Co. on Railroad Street was reported shortly before 8 p.m. The location is just steps from Main Street and downtown Lee, but fire officials said they had the blaze contained to the yard and that nearby homes and businesses were not in immediate danger.

No one has been reported injured, said the Lee fire dispatcher.

Fire departments from across the county are responding, but the only full-time paid departments in the Berkshires are in nearby Pittsfield and in North Adams, in the northwest corner of the state.

A Lee resident sent photos in to WWLP-TV Channel 22, which showed large flames shooting into the sky. The fire is expected to burn for many hours.

State Fire Marshal Stephen D. Coan sent a state trooper attached to his office to the scene to assist with the investigation. There is no word on a cause.