Around 4:00 p.m yesterday, our department was dispatched to the Rattlesnake Mountain trailhead for a possible outside fire. Initial reports indicated that several young men were seen lighting sticks on fire while hiking up the trail.

Police Chief Patten and Fire Chief Hacker arrived at the trailhead and encountered the group of hikers returning to the parking lot. It was quickly determined that they were not setting fires along the trail, but had built a small campfire at the summit.

At the same time, a group of 911 callers arrived and confirmed this account, stating they had already poured their drinking water on the smoldering fire.

Given the high fire danger and Rattlesnake Mountain’s long history of wildland fires, a crew of five firefighters hiked to the summit to ensure that the campfire was fully extinguished and that no additional fires were present.

Our local state forest ranger and the White Mountain National Forest Office were notified of the incident. We would like to remind residents and visitors that fire danger remains elevated across the state. In many areas of state and federal land, campfires are strictly prohibited.

This incident proved to be a valuable learning experience for the visiting hikers. While there was no malicious intent, they were educated on fire danger awareness and safe hiking practices.