As fire crews continue to fight blazes on hundreds of acres near Boston, new ones are igniting in the central and western parts of the dried-out state, according to the Department of Fire Services, which saw 10 new blazes in 24 hours. One hundred and thirteen brush and wildland fires have burned over 500 acres in the seven days leading up to Saturday, a spokesperson for the Department of Fire Services said. The fires are waging as drought continues to parch the area. On Friday, the National Weather Service declared a “red flag” warning for much of eastern Massachusetts, meaning the region is at high risk of fire. The service asked people not to cook outside. The fires are continuing to burn after an October when around 200 wildland fires were reported — 1,200 percent higher than the 15 the month typically sees, according to the state. The forecast shows little sign of rain, the Globe’s weather team has reported , so conditions are not set to improve even as the weather cools. Many of the fires reported earlier in the week — some of which continue to burn — were primarily in the eastern third of the state, covering Boston in a smoky haze earlier this week as firefighters battled blazes including large conflagrations north of Boston. Two of the largest fires continuing to burn are on Cain Hill near Salem and Lynn, where 140 acres burned and the blaze was only 50 percent contained by Friday. A fire at Middleton Pond burned across 188 acres, and was 70 percent contained, according to the state on Friday. The state said several factors are helping fuel the flames: the continuing dry, windy weather; a new blanket of freshly fallen leaves ready to burn; and, of course, people. Human activity seems to be the root of essentially all of these fires, the state said. Some watchers see this as part of the shifting patterns and warming temperatures from climate change. Boston has only recorded 2.30 inches of rain since Sept. 1, making it the second-driest fall to date. It’s more than 5 inches behind its fall average, and the city is in what the National Weather Service has deemed a “severe drought.” The high pressure that’s been chasing away rainstorms is expected to stick around just southeast of New England over the next week. Officials on Saturday said they have repeatedly activated the “Statewide Fire Mobilization Plan” to bring local firefighters and apparatus from around the Commonwealth to major blazes. The state also has been sending in drone units, all-terrain vehicles, and rehab trucks. Richard MacKinnon Jr., president of the Professional Fire Fighters of Massachusetts union, said on Saturday that the unusual past few weeks have been taxing for his members. The tricky part, he said, is the fact that the fires are closer to developed areas than they’ve been in the past, leaving city departments like Salem scrambling to handle brushfires and their normal slate of calls. It’s been part of a trend, now, where these types of fires are getting more frequent. ”We’re seeing it getting increasingly worse every year,” he said in an interview on Saturday. MacKinnon spoke on the phone as he was getting ready to work at his firehouse in Whitman. They aren’t battling a wildfire there, in the suburban town south of Boston, but they are getting ready to help as part of a South Shore task force. The department’s asking for firefighters to pick up overtime work to fill in for those who will be headed out. “Firefighters — we’ll step up and answer,” MacKinnon said.
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