Stoddard, n.h.
David Plante, 31, has been charged with arson and additional charges are expected, State Police Lt. Joseph DiRusso said during a news conference Friday night outside the Keene barracks. Investigators say they believe Plante acted alone. He was arrested Friday afternoon.
DiRusso declined to release any further information about the case against Plante, citing an ongoing investigation.
Stoddard Fire Chief Stephen McGerty said in an interview after the news conference that his 22-member department is “holding up,” but that it’s a difficult time for everyone. He said he plans to hold a department meeting Sunday night. He declined to discuss Plante’s arrest.
By the start of Friday’s news conference at 6 p.m., the 190-acre brush fire was 100 percent contained, according to Brad Simpkins, director of the Division of Forests and Lands. He said firefighters would remain on scene until nightfall, but likely not overnight.
“But we’ll be back out in the morning to check on things,” he said, noting that until there’s a significant rainfall state and local agencies will be checking the area twice a day.
A soaking rain is expected Monday or Tuesday, and that will help a lot, he said.
Thursday and Friday’s fire came on the heels of a string of others in Stoddard since Sunday, when first responders battled a 46-acre brush fire off Route 9. Three firefighters were hurt in that incident, suffering twisted ankles, heat exhaustion and smoke inhalation, according to Simpkins. No one was injured in the most recent blaze, he said Friday night.
But it triggered the evacuation of 17 homes on Juniper Hill and Tarbox roads, and closed a huge stretch of Route 9 for hours. Route 9 was back open Friday.
Besides the fire Sunday and the one Thursday and Friday, there was a third significant brush fire that burned about 16 acres, he said. The three fires burned a total of about 250 acres, although there were also several other smaller fires in recent days, too, he said.
A Facebook user named Heather Plante, who identifies herself as David Plante’s wife, wrote that David was called out to work the fire scene Sunday. A handful of people commented on her post about the fire and prayed for his safe return.
State investigators have declined to say at this time whether David Plante was assigned to fight the fires this past week, and if so, which ones.
Throughout the day Friday, brush trucks and pickup trucks carrying firefighters and equipment traveled back and forth from the fire scene to a staging area at Carlisle Wide Plank Floors on Route 9. Emergency medical personnel there evaluated some of the firefighters as they returned from the front lines.
The area was also staffed with American Red Cross volunteers handing out needed nourishment. Clifford LaPlante, disaster captain for the Keene region, said his team served 300 snacks, 200 hot breakfasts and 149 cold lunches, in addition to 500 bottles of water and sports drinks as of about 5 p.m., LaPlante said.
And as of that time, a hot Italian dinner was on its way.
About 40 fire departments responded Friday from Cheshire, Coos, Hillsborough and Sullivan counties, according to Michael D. Todd, public information officer for the Department of Safety.
Peterborough firefighters Nate Breckenridge and Tom Wall described the 190-acre brush fire as “insane” and like no fire they’d ever fought before.
Wall said he’d worked a total of about 28 hours in Stoddard since Wednesday, with 12 of those hours spent on the fire scene Friday. He noted that Friday’s work was particularly tough because firefighters had to hike about two or three miles into the woods before even reaching the fire scene.
“You’re pretty tired when you get in there. It’s very mountainous and tough terrain,” he said.
Breckenridge echoed those sentiments, saying that he expected to return home at the end of his shift and crash.
Fighting a brush fire of such large scale takes a lot out of a person, Lyndeborough firefighter Caleb Berke said. He explained that he was deep into the woods where he didn’t have access to a hose line, which made access to water more difficult and the work overall more grueling.
Members of the Keene Fire Department who had just returned from spending four or five hours on the fire line described fighting the brush fire as “extreme hiking.”
Efforts to contain the fire involved digging and raking a fire line or trench around the fire, removing debris such as leaves from it, and digging down to where it is just mineral dirt, according to Simpkins. Once the fire hits that trench it loses its steam because there is no fuel, he said.
Friday’s weather helped firefighting efforts because the humidity was higher than it was on Thursday, but the brief rain shower Friday morning had little effect, Simpkins said.
The blaze crossed high-tension lines at one point and damaged four utility poles, although did not cause any power outagese.