Gloucester closes public woods over fire risks

By Steven Rosenberg, Globe Staff, and Lauren Finch, Globe Correspondent

The city of Gloucester ordered all its public woods closed until further notice today amid fears that dry air and low humidity could spark forest fires. Massachusetts officials warned that many parts of the state were also at risk.

All 3,000 acres of public woodlands within Gloucester as well as the Norton Memorial Forest were closed, according to an emergency declaration signed by Mayor Carolyn Kirk. Fire Chief Phil Dench called the closure necessary given the dryness of the woods and the heavy activity from hikers and bikers.

Dench said the woods would be closed until the area receives at least three consecutive days of heavy rain. Last year, the woods were closed to the public for three weeks because of drought.

Drought indexes across the state have been high over the past few days, said Dave Celino, chief fire warden for Massachusetts. Recent precipitation fell in too short of a time span for soil and vegetation to absorb, leaving many wooded areas dry and with a high risk for fire, he said.

“When you start getting a few days like this, very sunny, high temperatures, low humidity with the dry conditions in the soil, it doesn’t take much for the fire danger to go up,” Celino said.