Brush fire on Mass Pike in Chicopee shuts down part of highway

CHICOPEE, Mass. (WGGB/WSHM) - In Chicopee, crews are still working to put out nearly 8 acres of brush fire along the Massachusetts Turnpike. The fire shut down traffic in both directions of the highway, though the eastbound lane has since been reopened.

Mutual aid and other emergency crews were dispatched to the Massachusetts Turnpike right around 1:15 p.m. on Thursday.

Slate Street in Chicopee remains closed to traffic while crews work to clear the scene.

We caught up with local residents who said traveling back home from work took much longer than expected.

“You can see a lot of traffic. Anywhere. No matter which way you looked traffic was all over,” traveler Christine Vincent told us. “We came in a different way, we came over Riverdale Road because getting up on the highway was not a good thing, traffic was backed up all the way into Agawam.”

Western mass news caught up with area resident Carol Blais, who explained what she saw coming home from work on Thursday afternoon.

“I did see the smoke over on the side behind our house but we walked down the street and noticed they were taking care of it, so we felt pretty good about it,” she said.

Others who were caught up in Thursday’s traffic told us this isn’t the first time they’ve experienced something like this.

“It’s happens too fast. If you’ve been in a fire before like I have, it happens very fast so just be careful,” Christine Vincente emphasized.

While conditions may be a bit unnerving, residents say there are things we can all do to make it better.

“Stay off the roads and let these guys do their jobs and if you’re a smoker don’t throw your cigarettes out the car window,” traveler Janet Willoughby advised.

As of this article’s posting, officials say the fire is under control, while the cause remains under investigation.

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