Fire in West Greenwich consumes more than 150 acres, most since the 1940s

WEST GREENWICH, R.I. (WLNE) — West Greenwich firefighters had a busy evening battling a brush fire that scorched more than 150 acres of land, the largest area for a brush fire since the 1940s, officials said.

Fire crews said the first alarm came in at 12:56 p.m., and swirling winds complicated firefighting all afternoon.

The Chief Public Affairs Officer for the Rhode Island Department of Environmental Management, Michael Healey said more than 30 local, state and out-of-state agencies responded. Those crews included Connecticut and Cape Cod.

Rhode Island National Guard is also on the scene flying water via helicopter to the affected area.

“We have a lot of resources on scene, it’s progressing very, very well as far as extinguishing the fire,” Brooke Lawrence, the Director for Emergency Management in the town of West Greenwich said.

All out-of-state crews are providing mutual aid,  Healey also stated, just as Rhode Island would do for them if they needed it.

State agencies and the Rhode Island Emergency Management Agency are also helping to provide communication aid and monitoring the fire.

Firefighters told ABC6 News crews on-scene that there are still hot spots and crews will be walking the perimeter throughout the night and will reassess in the morning.

“We are in a red danger time right now that the national weather service publishes that information, no open flames, don’t throw cigarette buts out windows,” Lawrence said about the warm and dry conditions continuing on Thursday.

Patrols are also being established to make sure there are no extensions.

Officials told ABC6 News that no major firefighting will continue tonight, they said they’ll keep tabs on the area to make sure no fires ignite after sunrise tomorrow.

This is a developing story and will be updated as information is released.