Brush fire burning near Home Depot, apartment complex on Route 1 in Saugus

A brush fire broke out along a busy stretch of Route 1 in Saugus on Thursday morning.

Aerial video showed thick smoke billowing into the sky as the flames burned in a wooded area near a Home Deport, a Trader Joe's, and the Atwood apartment complex.

The flames were seen burning in a circular pattern, marking the latest brush fire to break out in Massachusetts in recent days.

Brush fires have kept firefighters busy in the nearby communities of Salem and Middleton amid severe drought conditions on the North Shore.

The Massachusetts Army National Guard on Wednesday was assisting the Middleton Fire Department, conducting 23 water drops near Old Hundred Lane as a stubborn brush fire burned for an eleventh day.

The National Weather Service has urged the public to use caution when handling and disposing of ignition sources, discouraging outdoor burning.

"The prolonged period of dry weather coupled with a very dry ground will continue to result in elevated fire weather concerns on Thursday," the NWS warned in a special weather statement.

Firefighters were responding to the Saugus brush blaze.

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