As gale force winds whipped over 30-foot piles of tinder, Baltimore firefighters could see the only way to reach the rapidly growing brush fire in Woodberry was a single narrow road.
Fire officials worried that a sudden collapse of one or more log piles could trap crews in — or outside of — the city’s street tree recycling center, called Camp Small. Fires need heat, oxygen and fuel to light up a freezing winter night like Thursday evening. The flames rapidly consuming the lumber yard had all three in abundance.
Fire Chief James W. Wallace said he had never seen a brush fire of this scope.
More than 100 firefighters from across the city as well as Anne Arundel, Baltimore and Harford counties worked through the night to surround and eventually contain the massive fire, located near the West Cold Spring Lane exit of southbound Interstate 83, the Jones Falls Expressway.
The interstate was closed overnight as crews dug a ring around the flames to prevent them from spreading. By dawn Friday, the fire was contained and firefighters had successfully quelled four more fires that broke out in other parts of the city.
Friday afternoon, Wallace predicted that the logs and other wood refuse could smolder for days.
Fire crews have since brought in heavy equipment, including excavators and bulldozers, to secure a ring around the fire while also working to condense the piles and apply tons of water, Wallace said.
No injuries were reported and authorities have not yet determined what caused the Woodberry fire.
“Baltimore, we got you yesterday!” fire officials said in a social media post. “From dawn to dawn, The BCFD [Baltimore City Fire Department] was incredibly busy problem solving, helping and supporting our community, and protecting our valued assets and property.”
In addition to the Woodberry blaze, firefighters on Thursday responded to a tractor trailer fire just ahead of the eastern entrance to the Fort McHenry Tunnel/Interstate 95 and dwelling fires in the 600 block of West Lexington Street, the 1300 block of Bunsen Way and the 3400 block of Keswick Road.
The flurry of fires came on a night when temperatures dropped to 28 degrees. Much of Maryland, including Baltimore, is already experiencing drought conditions. Gusty winds made the fires even more complicated and risky to extinguish. The National Weather Service issued a gale warning Thursday for Baltimore calling for winds of 23-25 mph, with some expected to reach up to 52 mph. The advisory was in place until 10 p.m.
Winds appeared to have died down Friday afternoon and a heavy smell of smoke lingered in the air just southeast of Cylburn Arboretum, where Camp Small is notched into a nonresidential wooded area.
Camp Small is located across the Jones Falls Expressway from Baltimore Polytechnic Institute and Western High School. School system leaders closed both schools Friday because of the fire, and later took additional steps to close Medfield Heights Elementary at noon due to air quality concerns in the building. The Medfield Recreation Center was also closed Friday.
Light rail service was canceled Friday between North Avenue and Falls Road. A shuttle bus service was put in place to transport riders. Crews were to lay salt along portions of Cold Spring Lane to prevent freezing before the street reopened to traffic.
Traffic along all lanes of I-83 was shut down for a time between Northern Parkway and the Druid Park Lake Drive exit. Authorities waited until sunrise to assess the amount of smoke over the highway before reopening all lanes to morning commuters.
Thursday’s fires prompted authorities to cancel a planned fireworks show at the 53rd annual monument lighting ceremony.
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