Uncontrolled Range Fires at Aberdeen Proving Ground Fill Surrounding Area with Smoke

Aberdeen Proving Ground Fire and Emergency Services in Maryland fought uncontrolled fires Sunday as a strong smell of smoke and smoggy conditions set in across the Route 40 corridor.

The proving ground's fire and emergency services posted on Facebook at 3:30 p.m. that the National Guard was assisting them in fighting "range fires" -- fires burning uncontrolled on a range of land.

At least dozens of county residents posted images on social media of the smoky conditions along the Bush River and in numerous neighborhoods stretching from Aberdeen to Edgewood. A putrid, smoky smell also filled the air Sunday.

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The Harford County Fire and EMS public information page on Facebook confirmed that the smoke came from Aberdeen Proving Ground and urged residents to not call 911 unless they see an active fire.

Aberdeen Proving Ground is a testing facility for the U.S. Army, where artillery and other live weaponry are shot, evaluated and engineered. According to the Harford County government, over 40,000 acres of the site are forest land.

In a Facebook post Saturday, the Chestertown Volunteer Fire Company said a fire began on the proving ground Thursday and was not 100% contained, attributing this to the current smoky conditions in Harford and Kent counties.

"That fire eventually involved 100+ acres," the post said.

The post explained that given the testing activity at the base, "fires are inevitable," especially in the current droughtlike conditions.

Due to a large number of unexploded ordnance in the testing area that the fire appears to burn, the post said it is "far too dangerous" to deploy personnel on the ground for fire suppression, which has led to the proving ground's "let it burn" policy for range fires.

"Unless the situation gets out of hand," the post said. "Then, and only then, they would utilize airborne firefighting measures to address it. An example would be helicopters employing 'Bambi Buckets'" to drop water from above.

Officials with the proving ground's fire emergency services did not respond to a request for comment.

The Maryland Department of Natural Resources enacted a statewide burn ban Friday due to "extremely dry conditions" that persist across the state.

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