A small brushfire in Epsom on Sunday drew crews from several area fire departments and showed that it isn’t merely what happens above ground that matters.
“We went back today and hit a couple hot spots,” said Capt. Joel French of the Epsom Fire Department on Monday. “It has been so dry… it is burning deep.”
Much of New Hampshire has seen below-average rainfall and high temperatures since early June. These areas are now categorized as being in moderate drought, the second of five increasingly serious drought ratings by the National Weather Service.
Following a very wet spring, no part of New England was in any type of drought at all as late as May.
Now, dry weather not only means lots of flammable material — dry leaves, twigs and branches — lying on the forest floor ready to ignite. It also means that at least the top several inches of the soil itself is dry.
Soil can contain a surprising amount of organic material that can be ignited by hot flames above ground. A bigger problem is that the material can be heated enough to smoulder for days, waiting for the right conditions to re-ignite. This is why fire crews usually return to a wildfire site and spend hours walking the ground, looking for signs of trouble less visible than an open flame.
The fire, near Goboro Road just east of Rt. 28, was found at about 2 p.m. after passers-by called in reports of smoke. Firefighters from several area communities eventually responded to the scene.
Slightly over an acre was burned. The cause of the fire is still unknown, French said.
