ROCKPORT — Firefighters spent hours Friday battling a brush fire in the woods behind the Pleasant Street Cemetery.
“The good news is it’s out and no one got hurt,” said town Forest Fire Warden Mike Frontierro on Saturday afternoon, after spending four hours that morning with crews checking for and putting out a few hot spots, collecting gear and cleaning the scene.
About 22 acres was burned, Frontierro said he was told by members of the State Police Air Wing on Friday night.
“It was a hard fire to fight,” he said. “It was difficult terrain, and bad on the ridge. It was also very windy, with low humidity. I had already canceled fire permits in the morning for that reason, to prevent something like this, but you can’t control what happens in the woods.”
The first call about a fire in the area of 90 Pleasant was made to Chief Kirk Keating at 1:30 p.m. from a jogger in the area. Firefighters wrapped up about 8:30 Friday night.
In the interim, about 30 firefighters from Rockport, Gloucester and crews from three trucks from the state Bureau of Forest Fire Control and Forestry battled the blaze.
Frontierro said the State Police Air Wing was called in on standby had water needed to be dropped on the fire further than hoses could reach.
More than 1,000 feet of hose was laid, he said. Some of the hose was left in case firefighters had to return later Friday night, after a state police helicopter flew over and found no hot spots. That hose was used Saturday morning before being packed up.
Essex Engine 1 covered Rockport’s Central Station during the fire.
