10-acre Gilmanton brush fire extinguished Tuesday

GILMANTON — A 10-acre brushfire that started Monday morning in Gilmanton is now extinguished thanks to the combined efforts of a dozen agencies.  

Crews worked until about 5:30 p.m. on Monday and returned Tuesday morning to extinguish hotspots. 

Despite the size of the blaze, there were no injuries and no structures were destroyed.

“At about 11:15 yesterday I received a phone call from a property owner reporting a ton of smoke behind their property on Varney Hill Farm road,” said Gilmanton Fire Chief Paul Hempel on Tuesday.

“Assets were dispatched along with Gilmanton PD. They got on the scene and the Gilmanton police chief called saying we had a large incident with a rapidly moving fire moving up the mountain.”

Within 10 minutes, Gilmanton Fire Department requested assistance as the fire quickly spread through the area's downed trees and leaves. By Monday afternoon, more companies were called in.

“This was considered a pretty good fire given the circumstances and location. It was a very steep incline from the base of Greeley Farm Road and up to Peaked Hill,” Hempel said.

“The guys were like mountain goats, really. They worked extremely hard.”

Firefighting resources and personnel from Alton, Barnstead, Belmont, Franklin, Gilford, Gilmanton, Laconia, Sanbornton, Loudon, Tilton-Northfield, Pittsfield and New Durham provided assistance to the fire.

“We had units at the base and the head of the fire working in conjunction,” Hempel said. “We dispatched New Hampshire foresters to that location to assist with personnel and chainsaws.”

Loudon Fire Chief Thomas Blanchette said his department deployed a crew of six people Monday, and a crew of four along with two vehicles Tuesday. New Durham also deployed an engine and a forestry truck. In addition to local towns, forestry personnel and members of the state’s wildfire unit were also deployed. Hempel estimated that around 25 to 30 individuals were working the fire at the height of the incident.

“We probably deployed 5,000 feet of forestry hose — there was just lots of equipment,” Hempel said.

“It takes an all-hands effort. It’s a lengthy exercise, a lengthy process.”

Hempel also credited a few unnamed civilians that “worked really hard to try to extinguish the fire” in addition to alerting the department during the early stages.

“This time of year, this isn’t considered brushfire season, that’s early spring,” Hempel said, but stated the dry conditions and abundance of leaves are still a factor. The fire chief also described the origin of the fire as accidental, and attributed it to improper disposal of stove ash.

“We try to educate the public on proper ash disposal,” Hempel said. “With the right mix and wind, ashes can be reignited very easily.”

The safest way to dispose of ashes is to keep them in a closed container and wet them down. 

“I think this property had them in a closed container and thought they were extinguished,” Hemel said. “But they weren't down deep. You can have ashes remain as embers for quite some time. It’s best to dump them out and extinguish them with water.”