Rattlesnake Mountain fire contained, continues to burn 4 days later

A large brush fire on Rattlesnake Mountain brought in firefighters from 15 agencies attempting to fight the blaze, burning for four days running.

A U.S. Forest Service spokesperson said firefighters continued to work on knocking down the 14-acre fire, but it was “100% contained,” on Monday afternoon.

“Crews are spending today strengthening and improving control lines and monitoring areas of creeping and smoldering fire within the interior,” according to the U.S. Forest Service Pemigewasset Ranger District.

Rumney Fire Chief Evan Hacker said Monday morning rain was falling in the area, and the wind had died down since the start of the fire Friday morning, helping the cause.

State crews, along with those from White Mountain National Forest, Green Mountain and Ginger Lakes National Forest, were assigned to the fire and still there on Monday. Crews were monitoring the interior and maintaining control lines, as fire activity was consistent.

Difficult terrain 

Rumney firefighters responded to Rattlesnake Mountain at 10:30 a.m. on Aug. 14, when there were reports of smoke near the summit.

Hacker said the fire was “pretty intense,” but it wasn’t moving very fast. However, on Friday, there were 30 mph wind gusts, which caused concern, especially in treacherous terrain.

ATVs were unable to access the area, and more and more backup was requested, bringing in 15 communities, including the New Hampshire Division of Forest and Lands. Hacker said crews worked until about 7 p.m., before being pulled off the mountain before dark.

Rattlesnake Mountain is on federal land, part of the White Mountain National Forest. While Hacker has been a point of contact with federal authorities, he said firefighting efforts and an investigation have been in their hands since Saturday.

Hacker updated the public about the fire Sunday, saying crews from the White Mountain National Forest and NH Division of Forest and Lands were back at the site, working to extinguish the fire. He added crews were facing challenging conditions, due to the “steep and rugged terrain,” and operations were expected to continue for days.

Hacker said the area is full of cliffs and ledges, and didn’t allow for ATVs to get to the area. While it was “incredibly visible,” with the department receiving dozens of calls as smoke could be seen from Interstate 93, it is also extremely hard to get to, with no direct trail.

Hacker said it takes about an hour to hike on a trail, followed by 30 to 45 minutes of exhausting bushwacking.

Once crews got to the area, they started digging fire lines in an effort to contain it. There were about 30 firefighters in the woods working on Friday, up from five in the first hour. He said help from Lakes Region Mutual Fire Aid was vital.

Crews were staged at the base of the mountain, with incident command set up at the Rumney transfer stationd. Overall, there were 60 people working, including station coverage, staging, the command post, and helping disburse water and food.

“Crews made good progress yesterday establishing fire lines and further containing the fire,” Hacker stated in an update about the fire Monday afternoon. “The rainfall we received overnight and throughout the day has also been beneficial, helping slow fire activity and limit further spread.”

Hacker said the massive fire brought crews from all the way down to Sanbornton, and as far west as Haverhill.

“It was all hand work, because we couldn’t get equipment up there,” Hacker said.

Sanbornton Fire Chief Paul Dexter responded, with two other firefighters, around 3:30 p.m. on Friday. They were only there for about two hours, he said, as they were called off with daylight disappearing.

“From a standpoint of safety, they don’t put people up there in the dark,” Dexter said.

Plymouth Fire Chief Kevin Pierce said four firefighters from his department were called to assist. He said it was about 75 degrees when they arrived around 3:30 p.m., and it was windy and dry, which didn’t help.

“The wind was pushing it everywhere,” Pierce said.

New Hampton Fire Chief Scott Cathy sent the department’s forestry truck and a crew of three went at 12:13 p.m. on Friday. They stayed just under five hours, parking at a trailhead near the transfer station and hiking up.

“Thankful it was a young, fit crew that day,” Cathy said.

Hacker said while the fire is now in the hands of state and federal leaders, Rumney and other departments have people on standby incase it reaches private lands. He said the fire is being monitored day and night, and on Monday, it was “nowhere close to reaching any of that.”

“It is at least a mile through woods to any structure,” Hacker said.

Pierce said the use of helicopters was discussed, but federal authorities opted not to use the resources. He noted they go up to Rattlesnake Mountain every “five to seven years for a fire almost identical” to this.

Center Harbor Fire Chief Tyler Driscoll said his department was called initially, then called off as it was late in the day, and he's fought fires in the past on this mountain, with the Holderness Fire Department.

Cathy said he responded to a fire there in the 1990s, and said it is rugged near the top. While he didn’t go this time around, one of the firefighters who made the ascent is a Marine veteran, who said it was “tough and challenging.”

“When he got to the top where they were working, he was not only winded and tired, but it was hard, because there were smoky conditions,” Cathy said.

Responding agencies included Ashland, Bristol, Campton-Thornton, Center Harbor, Haverhill, Hebron, Holderness, Meredith, New Hampton, Plymouth, Rumney, Sanbornton, and Wentworth fire, Rumney and Plymouth police, the NH Division of Forest and Lands, and the U.S. Forest Service.

Drone assistance

Plymouth Police Det. Tom Arnold was called to the scene to use the department’s drone just after 11 a.m. on Friday. He said through donations from Mount Prospect Academy, both the police and fire departments have drones, and in this case, it was vital.

He said the drone — an Autel Evo T — has a great camera and laser system that can read temperatures and provide specific GPS location data. Arnold said initially there was smoke visible, but it was unclear where the fire was.

“With the drone, we cold fly just below the peak, with a camera,” he said.

With a thermal camera, as well as a wide angle and telephoto camera, the fire was quickly located. The laser was used to get 10-digit grids to relay to the command post.

Rumney is world-renowned for rock climbing, and on Friday, the parking lot was packed with climbers at Rumney Rocks. Thanks to the drone, police could see the trajectory of the fire could put them in harm’s way, and evacuated the area.

While the drone was flying, firefighters saw a rock climber scaling the cliff.

The drone was not equipped with a megaphone, but they were able to wait for the climber to reach the top, then send the drone in his direction in hopes he would know he needed to leave.

“We flew it up to him, and moved it back and forth over the cliff, to non-verbally tell him to get out of there quick,” Arnold said. “He saw the drone, and figured that was what we were communicating.”

The climber spoke with firefighters later so they knew he was safe. The fire was burning only about 200 yards above him.

No injuries have been reported, and no structures have been damaged or destroyed from the fire.

Trailheads along Buffalo Road that access the Rumney climbing areas and Rattlesnake Island are closed to the public.

No cause determined

Pierce said there may have been a campfire lit near the summit, like those which have caused issues in the past, but Hacker said it is a very remote area, and it would be “tricky” for someone to pull off starting a fire. Hacker and Pierce didn’t believe it was suspicious.

Dexter and Pierce both said there were reports of lightning days prior.

“We did have some thunderstorms roll through earlier last week,” Hacker said.

Messages left with the NH Division of Forest and Lands and the U.S. Forest Service were not returned by deadline.

The cause of the fire has not yet been determined, and is under investigation.