By Roger Amsden
The Union Leader

ALTON, N.H. — Firefighters struggled in 95-degree heat yesterday to fight a fast-moving brush fire on Mount Major, a task helped late in the afternoon when a helicopter joined the effort.

The blaze consumed about six acres before firefighters declared it knocked down about 8:30 p.m. The three-alarm fire was initially reported just before 2 p.m.

"There's a lot less smoke rising than there was earlier," Alton Fire Chief Scott Williams said after the helicopter got to work.

Meanwhile, firefighters struggled over smaller brush fires.

In Exeter, several firefighters were treated for heat-related illness and one was transported to the hospital. And in Rochester, firefighters were sent to help in Alton after extinguishing their own blaze near the Allen School.

Alton's Williams said he initially held up deploying firefighters because of the risk of heat exhaustion.

"Personal safety is paramount. There's not a tree up there that's worth saving if it costs a person's life," he said.

Some of the 50 or so firefighters brought in to tackle the blaze were treated for mild heat exhaustion during the afternoon.

Firefighters had to use all-terrain vehicles and then hike for nearly a mile to reach the fire.

"We're going to secure the perimeter tonight and leave crews up there during the night to contain it and then see what morning brings," Williams said.

The helicopter, from JBI in Pembroke, hauled in water from a mountain pond just behind Mount Major, a popular hiking destination with a spectacular view of Lake Winnipesaukee.

Trails up the mountain were closed. A parking lot at the base was used as a staging area for crews, which came from all parts of the Lakes Region and as far south as Rochester.

Williams said the area where the fire broke out is filled with trees that toppled against each other during a 1998 ice storm.

He said it is a very dangerous place for firefighters, who have to cut their way with power saws to reach the fire.

In April 2008, 30 acres of woodlands burned in a blaze that covered nearly a mile on the mountain.

It was eventually brought under control by 100 firefighters and two helicopters.

In Exeter, firefighters called to 18 Continental Drive found a brush fire 200 yards into the woods. The three-alarm fire drew firefighters from 12 towns and was knocked down within an hour, Exeter officials said in a statement released last night.

But it took another three hours to overhaul and extinguish the fire.

In Rochester, the fire burned an area of about 25 by 10 feet, said Capt. Mark Avery.

"It was pretty hot," Avery said. He said firefighters used foam, which saves on manpower, to extinguish the fire.

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