A massive wood fire broke out Thursday night in the Woodberry neighborhood in north Baltimore, shutting down I-83 in both directions, halting the light rail and rerouting buses as firefighters battled to control its spread.
The brushfire at Camp Small, the city’s wood waste collection area, was one of at least two fires that firefighters were tackling throughout the city on a subfreezing nigh with gusty winds.
“This fire quickly spread. It was wind driven. It was a very challenging fire and at this point remains a very challenging fire,” Baltimore Fire Chief James Wallace said at a news conference Thursday night, adding that there have been no reported injuries or evacuations.
Wallace said I-83 was in the process of being shutdown in both directions.
The Baltimore City Department of Transportation said in a post on X that in addition to Coldspring Lane, northbound and southbound I-83 from Northern Parkway to Druid Park Lake Drive will be closed until further notice.
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A Baltimore Fire dispatcher said earlier that the blaze was coming from an approximately 300-by-100-foot pile of logs at the intersection of Cold Spring Lane and Brand Avenue. The dispatcher said the logs were outside of a mulching facility.
Embers from the fire are being carried by the high winds, Wallace said, but a nearby apartment building was not affected. He said the brushfire is among the largest that he has seen in his career.
Thursday night’s weather forecast calls for strong winds in Baltimore, with gusts up to 33 mph, according to the National Weather Service.
Light rail service has been suspended between the Falls Road and North Avenue stations “due to fire department activity,” the MTA said in a service alert. Both eastbound and westbound service on LocalLink bus 28 will be rerouted, according to the MTA.
Wallace said firefighters are also trying to protect the light rail tracks from the heat of the blaze. He said the tracks had been “de-energized.” The fire chief also said he expected the fire department to be on the scene late until the night and into the morning.
Late Thursday, Baltimore City Public Schools said two nearby schools, Baltimore Polytechnic Institute and Western High School, will be closed Friday.
Another fire was reported in a building on Lexington Street around 6 p.m. According to Baltimore City Fire officials, a fire in two 4-story units in the 600 block was contained despite heavy wind conditions. Ten residents were displaced by the blaze, fire officials said, and a firefighter was taken to a hospital with minor injuries.
The Washington Monument lighting celebration in Mount Vernon did not include fireworks as part of the program due to multiple fires across the city Thursday night, Baltimore Comptroller Bill Henry said at the event.
This article will be updated.
Have a news tip? Contact Racquel Bazos at rbazos@baltsun.com, 443-813-0770 or on X as @rzbworks.