Alton, N.H. — September 2 —The Alton Fire Department reported a challenging Labor Day weekend marked by several high-acuity incidents, including a multi-vehicle crash with multiple critical patients and a second-alarm brush fire. Both events placed heavy demands on local emergency services.

Officials credited the department’s mutual aid partners for their critical support in managing the emergencies. A special acknowledgment was given to a local resident who spotted smoke while flying over a remote wooded area and reported it. That call led to the discovery of a fire likely caused by a lightning strike two days earlier. Authorities said the early report prevented the fire from becoming a much larger incident.