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Controlled burn conducted in Ware for fire prevention

WARE, Mass. (WWLP) – A controlled burn took place in Ware on Tuesday in an effort to prevent future fires in the area. Residents do need a permit if they are going to perform their own controlled burn. These prescribed burns takes months of planning, but if well executed, they can be life saving for both people in the area and the local ecosystem. Season's first great white shark sighting in Massachusetts confirmed A spillway at the Windsor Dam in Ware was set on fire Tuesday morning, but that's a good thing. The Massachusetts Department of Conservation and Recreation burned the one and a half acre plot to clear any possible fuel for future wildfires. Chief Fire Warden Dave Celino described why this practice can be beneficial. 'When we're burning down in the Pine Barrens or up in Montague Plains, we're reducing fuel loading, which is hazardous fuel loading,' Celino said. 'We saw what that did in the fall of 2024. That was sort of a wake-up call that we can use fire to our advantage as a tool.' Prevention measures like this are necessary after the record-breaking fire season across the state late last year. This is a sample, or a test burn. Firefighters are currently trying to understand how the land is going to burn so they're safer during the real thing. Half of the spillway was burned earlier this year, and the difference is night and day. While this helps with fire prevention, it also breathes new life into overgrown ecosystems. 'We're seeing the benefits with increases in populations of insects and rare plants and mammals, and other species around the state, especially around the areas where we've reintroduced the fire back into the landscape,' Celino said. There was one week in October of 2024 with 126 fires across the state. WWLP-22News, an NBC affiliate, began broadcasting in March 1953 to provide local news, network, syndicated, and local programming to western Massachusetts. Watch the 22News Digital Edition weekdays at 4 p.m. on Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.