Mt Major on Fire????
 

I am hearing from 2 sources there is a sizeable fire on the mountain? Can anyone confirm?

Based upon what I am hearing on the scanner, they are pulling together five-man crews from the towns in the LRMA to hit it in the morning. Meredith and Gilford will be sending crews and I am sure other departments will as well.

All I know is the fire is being called the Mt. Major fire. I do not know how bad it is, but with tonight's prep work, it sound bigger than minor.

R2B

I just heard on the scanner that there is a brush fire on Mt. Major.

A little more than a brush fire
 

We just got back from seeing the "brush fire" we went to Alton Mountain Rd. You could see about 7 "hot spots" and a wall of fire working its way down toward 11. According to the fireman on the we were talking to, he was guessing that 40 acres has already burned.

Mount Major Fire news coverage
 

HERE is a story at the Citizen on-line detailing the fire....

Check the Winnipesaukeecam -- they adjusted the angle and you can now clearly see the smoke blowing. It's 7:58 on Friday morning.

http://winnipesaukeecam.com/

Mt Major fire this morning 4-25-2008
 

The choppers are still working the fire -- you can see them flying in and out.

As of 6am this morning, WMUR was reporting that the fire was 8 acres.

footage is scary
 

I can't imagine the difficulty of fighting a fire up there. Good thoughts to the firefighters and rescue workers, thanks for all you do.

Imagine how much harder it would be without the nearby water source for the copters (although the Citizen article says the water isn't doing much.)

I just set the cam to save the images. I'll attempt to make a video out of it later tonight.

Hopefully they will put the fire out fast through it's going to be a tough fight with the fire being up the mountain.

i was there...the fire is mostly undercontrol now and they are sending more of us up there in the morning

The helicopter(s) is/are keeping very busy. And it appears that the smoke has lessened.

Helicopter
 

They are using a large helicopter with a suspended water bag to make repeated trips between Alton Bay (by the Rt. 11 Scenic View) and the fire. While I was at the Scenic View at around 9:45 AM this morning the Alton Police blocked Rt. 11 in both directions and the helicopter landed in the middle of the road for refueling. A fuel tanker truck was waiting and the process took about 10 - 15 minutes. Then the copter took off and resumed it's trips between the Bay and the fire.

I just came back from the lake. There was two helicopters making the water runs. Traffic was rerouted down 11D. The media and many fire trucks were parked at the base parking.

Mt. Major fire photos
 

As of noon, there appeared to be 6-7 fires in various locations. The National Guard choppers were picking up water from Alton Bay and dropping it directly on the flames, doing a great job. At one point Rt. 11 was shut down to refuel one of the Black Hawks.

We shot before and after another assignment today- you'll find more images online in this album.

Great Job!
 

Although it will likely take a good rain storm, likely on Monday/Tuesday, to completely put the fire out, watching the choppers work and the lessening of the smoke tells me the LRMA departments and the NHNG have done an outstanding job working together to knock this fire down.

Great job folks!

R2B

As of 4:00 PM I did not see any smoke from the road. The word in the fire station was very optimistic. Those firefighters must be pretty tired.

Great photos flyguy!
I saw a military chopper come over Hills Pond late this afternoon (heading back to base?) and can hear choppers in the distance off and on.

This is really scary. All I can think about since the fire started is how some of you were talking about the new shorleland protection act rules and how if you can't clear brush etc around you house, you are in a lot of danger.

Flyguy - absolutely incredible picture - thanks for sharing it.