A lightning bolt struck a tree on Mount Ascutney on Wednesday, Aug. 27, at approximately 11:28 a.m. A fire quickly broke out on the mountain in a heavily forested area.
According to the former president of the Ascutney Trails Association (ATA), Erik Schutz, “The lightning strike hit the tree as the thunderstorms began to roll in on Wednesday afternoon. Someone saw smoke, and soon an actual fire had broken out near the summit by the triple and quad ski lifts. It was terrifying.”
Shelley Seward, executive director of Ascutney Outdoors, told the Standard, “It was utterly surreal. The fire department was dispatched immediately for fear the fire would spread and engulf the surrounding forest.” It was quickly determined that the fire was in a relatively inaccessible area, and townspeople — including Seward’s husband Glenn — helped bring water up the mountain as firefighters worked to control the burn.
“The fire department was dispatched at 12:32 p.m. after someone saw smoke and reported the fire,” West Windsor Fire Chief Erik Boedtker said,
After Boedtker and his team arrived on site, they realized that the fire was in a difficult location and would only be accessible by foot. “That was the main challenge,” Boedtker said. “We feared the fire would spread if we did not act quickly, and so I called for reinforcements from multiple local fire departments for extra manpower.” Windsor, Reading, West Weathersfield, Springfield, Chester, Hartland, South Woodstock, Woodstock, and Ascutney fire departments responded. Together, the firefighters worked to extinguish and contain the fire manually. Boedtker said the fire was put out by roughly 5 p.m.
Boedtker urged anyone thinking about outdoor burning to call the local fire warden. A permit is required for all outdoor recreational burning, but in the midst of this dry season, Boedtker expects an abnormal fire season to continue with higher risk of forest fires until the rain comes. He asked civilians to take precautions, to educate themselves on the risk of outdoor burning, and to act with care and caution.
