Woodchips Help Fuel Sunday Brush Fire

Firefighters were unable to determine a specific cause for a brush fire Sunday on Stonebridge Road, but they said woodchips left behind after Nstar's recent clear-cutting under high-tension lines helped fuel the flames.

Chief Vinnie Smith said the first call came in at 11:01 a.m. Sunday. The radio report indicated someone had spotted smoke in the area.

Wayland fire crews located the fire under the high-tension lines on the south side of Stonebridge Road. Smith said he believes the area was actually in Framingham, though the access point is in Wayland.

“In this case, it was small enough and the access point is in Wayland, so we handled it,” Smith explained, adding that the department has contacted Framingham responders for past fires in the same general area.

Firefighters quickly surrounded the half acre on which the fire burned. Because of the woodchips in the area, and the generally dry conditions, firefighters spent some time wetting down the area after handling the fire itself.

This is the latest of this year. The area is large and wooded, so visitors are out of sight of any homes, Smith said. He added that firefighters often find remnants of campfires, though they did not in this case.

“We know that people are down there," Smith said. "They may be spending time overnight there. [Fires are] almost always, I would think, accidental and the result of campfires not properly put out."

Smith said that the fire did occur on "power line property," but that no Nstar crewmembers or equipment were in the area of the fire.