Last Sunday, at about ten o’clock, with a high wind blowing from the westward, afterwards more southerly, a fire started in Quampacha Bottom, on Dr.
Less than a month after a fire sent contaminated smoke billowing throughout the Havenside elderly housing complex in Vineyard Haven, nearly all of the displaced residents have returned — though most of their belongings are gone forever.
A fire last week at the JWL Transport junkyard remains is being considered suspicious, a fire official said Wednesday.
Oak Bluffs firefighters were called to the scene at 9:08 p.m. when a witness reported a large explosion and flames billowing from the property, located off County Road and Pennsylvania avenue.
A witness saw smoke coming from a work van parked at 79 Edgartown-Vineyard Haven Road around 9:15 p.m. Wednesday. The flames then spread to a second van and then to the building.
The proposal would have turned a trail in the Wapatequa Woods Reservation into a “firebreak,” meant to improve vehicle accessibility at the property in case of a wildfire. Officials felt the plan didn't fit the conditions of the property.
Dry conditions, flammable native plants and encroaching development make the state forest at the heart of Martha’s Vineyard highly susceptible to wildfire, and officials are urging homeowners to help mitigate the risks.
