Firefighters feeling the impacts of brush fires across Connecticut

CONNECTICUT (WTNH) — Across Connecticut, fire officials are feeling the impacts of the dry season that has led to dozens of brush fires across the state.

"For us in the fire service, it's like pins and needles every day we wake up," Berlin Fire Chief Jonn Massirio said.

Department of Energy and Environmental Protection (DEEP) Fire Control Officer Robert Schenk said that the state is currently experiencing a drought that it hasn't seen since the 1800s.

The latest fire has been in Andover, with DEEP saying on Monday that the fire has now reached 27 acres. Crews from as far away as California to Idaho and Canada have been brought in to back up Connecticut firefighters.

"I can't tell you how many times we've gotten really close to losing a big fire, and we have just been able to hang on, and it's because of those outside resources, that is a new crew from Quebec that came in and it's the first day on the line today, and it was in Andover," Schenk said.

About half a dozen homes and structures have burned to the ground as a result of these fires. The cost is starting to amount in equipment and personnel. While the numbers are still being tallied, the state said that its spent seven figures worth of money on resources from this brush fire season.

Watch the full video in the player above.