Brush Fire in Fens Fills Sky With Black Smoke

A brush fire in the Fenway created a dense cloud of black smoke Thursday afternoon, visible from all across the city—even the National Weather Service’s doppler radar.

Boston Fire Department says the blaze began around 2:19 p.m., torching the large swaths of reeds along the Muddy River, near Park Drive. “It is one of three areas where we get brush fires every year,” spokesman Steve MacDonald told the Globe. “The blaze broke out in an area of reeds that are six to seven feet tall.”

The smoke cloud appeared on the National Weather Service’s doppler radar of the Fenway area roughly 15 minutes after the fire began.

[3p] An animation of smoke dispersal per our radar of the brush fire over #Fens in #Boston. pic.twitter.com/IDHKgOQNPD

— NWS Boston (@NWSBoston) April 28, 2016

The fire closed several nearby streets. One Boston cop required medical attention, MacDonald said.

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The cause of the blaze remains under investigation.

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