Rocky Neck State Park remains closed due to a large brush fire, but in Meriden, some hiking trails have reopened as firefighters make progress on the nearby Hawthorne fire in Berlin.
Dry weather continues to feed brush fires around the state. Firefighters are making progress on some of the major fires, but dry conditions are making it difficult to call any “out.”
In East Lyme, a brush fire continues to keep the gates closed to Rocky Neck State Park.
“I actually wanted to get away from my yard,” said Judy Goupet, who drove down from Windsor Thursday to take a break from yard work.
She arrived to a closed gate due to that fire.
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“I have heard about them, that’s the reason I haven’t started my fire pit,” she said.
The Rocky Neck Park fire is currently just under 45 acres. It's one of nearly 150 fires still burning or being monitored around Connecticut.
The longer it lingers, the more questions places like Lyme Tavern Sports Bar and Grill fields.
“They have been asking if it's still going on, how long it's going on, can we smell anything?” said Steve Carpenteri, the tavern's owner, said.
The business sits just up the road from the entrance to the park. He noted he has yet to smell smoke or see any flames, but knows firefighters are working hard.
“We are still obviously in extreme fire weather,” Tom Trask, forest protection supervisor with DEEP, said.
DEEP said the state remains a matchbox. Officials are continuing to put off any burning and be extremely cautious with open flames. But the north, along the Berlin Turnpike, is seeing progress.
Firefighters are getting a good hold on the state’s largest brush fire, the Hawthorne Fire, after an 18-day firefight.
“Our recoveries at night have allowed us to combat the Hawthorne Fire a lot better and get it more secure around the perimeter,” Trask said.
Officials said the fire is about 73% contained and is holding at 127 acres. Access has been granted again to certain trails at Giuffrida Park, but some still remain closed while firefighters operate.
Their posture at the command post - still cautious optimism.
“Just constant safety, if there is no reason to have a fire, don’t have it and follow the burn bans,” Trask said.
Back in East Lyme, the park remains closed for now, and those waiting to access the shoreline patiently, with their eyes to the sky.
“In all the years I have lived in Connecticut, I don’t remember brush fires, California, ways away from Connecticut,” Goupet said.
Officials are still urging the public to be extremely cautious until there has been significant rain.
