A spectacular multiple-alarm fire destroyed up to 50 buildings and damaged about a dozen other structures in the historic Alton Bay Christian Conference Center late Sunday afternoon just after 4:30 p.m.
Wind-whipped flames punctuated by exploding propane gas tanks that sent fireballs hundreds of feet into the air brought in firefighters and equipment from miles around.
No residents were hurt, but at least four firefighters were treated for exhaustion and another was treated at a hospital and released, said Gilmanton Fire Chief K.G. Lockwood, whose department was among those lending aid to local firefighters.
Overall, fire departments from about 40 communities sent roughly 50 trucks to battle the blaze, and emergency officials still were calling for manpower from another 12 departments late Sunday night, Lockwood said. He described the blaze as a roughly 12-alarm fire on a scale of one to five.
The call originally came in as a two-alarm smoke investigation, but within a matter of minutes was called in as a five-alarm, multiple unit structure fire, which ultimately led to more than ten fire departments being called to battle the blaze.
Departments from as far east as Middleton and York, Maine, and as far north as Plymouth, Tuftonboro and Danbury were dispatched to the fire. The blaze spread so rapidly that emergency personnel were calling call-firefighters and other rescue agencies on cell phones because of the amount of traffic being transmitted over the radio.
"Within five minutes I saw four houses catch fire and burn to the ground," said Bill Hogan, who owns a vacation home adjacent to the campground which is bounded by Route 11 and Rand Hill Road. "The flames just jumped from one house to the other. Once it got inside and to the roof, the cottage was gone."
Hogan said firefighters tried to prevent the fire from spreading by hitting spots in between structures, but water was no match for the strong winds spreading the fire. The weather station at the Laconia Airport recorded winds up to 30 miles per hour at the time of the fire.
Thick gray smoke could be seen for miles from the fire scene. There were reports that smoke could be seen from as far away as Laconia and many spectators saw the smoke along Route 11 on the Gilford/Alton town line.
While the sun was still shining above the tree line, multiple structures could be seen burning bright orange and flames shooting up over 10 feet above the roof line of the structures. Those spectators who were at the scene moments after the fire broke out, witnessed several explosions from what seemed to be propane tanks.
"When the tanks blew off, it felt like a sonic boom," said David Booth an Alton resident.
Booth was coming back from Easter dinner in Meredith with friends and family when they came across a road block on Route 11. They noticed a large cloud of smoke as they approached Alton Bay and pulled over to view more of the fire.
At least three of the visible structures from the Alton Bay Community Center had crumbled to the ground before 5:30 p.m. As spectators began forming a crowd at the station, one propane tank exploded and within 10 minutes a larger explosion occurred sending people ducking to the ground. The second explosion shot debris over 100 feet into the wind and other pieces in several directions and created a small mushroom cloud that dissipated into the air.
Police immediately escorted people back after the explosions, having them remove their vehicles from the area to make room for additional fire apparatus coming in from the north. Traffic in all directions was being diverted away from the scene except for incoming emergency personnel.
Fire apparatus from Tilton-Northfield, Moultonborough and Center Harbor arrived on scene before 6 p.m. Hoses were being stretched across Route 11 from the lake to pumper engines that constantly delivered water to firefighters as they continued to battle the flames.
The fire also damaged utility lines, causing some 2,000 New Hampshire Electric Cooperative customers in Alton and Gilford to lose power. The utility was hoping to have power restored to most people by midnight or shortly afterward.
As the evening wore on, the gray smoke turned into thick, black smoke.
"When you see lighter smoke, it's the natural materials burning," said Firefighter/Paramedic Kelly Marsh from the Belmont Fire Department. "If the smoke is black, then you know synthetics are burning such as plastic and chemicals."
Marsh arrived on scene with her own vehicle after hearing the call over a scanner.
Power lines running along the side property caught fire, forcing emergency crews to cut power within the radius of the fire.
Alton resident Carl Daniels was just about to finish his meal with his family when the power went out.
RAY MONGEAU/CITIZEN PHOTO
AN AERIAL LADDER truck is stationed on Route 11 in Alton Bay as firefighters battle a multiple-alarm fire which destroyed dozens of building in the Altton Bay Christian Conference Center Sunday afternoon.
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"We were just about to eat dessert and the power went out," said Daniels. "That's when we walked outside and saw the smoke and decided to get a closer look."
Arriving on the scene, cars were beginning to pile up on the side with spectators abandoning their vehicles to see the roaring fire. The Alton Police Department was directing traffic, urging people to clear the scene, limiting people to the Mount Washington dock.
Resident Conrad Newton was in his house next to the inferno when the propane tanks began to explode.
"The explosions shook the entire house," Newton said.
Firefighters continued to battle the multiple unit blaze with the winds blowing the flames to neighboring structures and igniting several pine trees. Smoke filled the street between Shibley's Ice Cream and the bay, making it almost impossible to see anything besides the flashing lights of fire apparatus.
The fire was officially declared under control at 10:30 p.m. But many firefighters were expected to remain on the scene overnight.
Laconia Firefighter Lt. Kirk Beattie was monitoring the fire on the scanner when the call first went out. His son Sean could see some of the smoke from their house in Laconia.
"We live up by the hospital and we could just barely see the smoke," said the younger Beattie. "It looked as if the whole town was on fire."
Lt. Beattie was listening on the scanner as he was preparing to take the initiative to go out on his own.
"When it was at a three-alarm, he said he would go if it got worse and within a few minutes it went to five and we left," Sean said.
Fire officials called for a truck to come to the fire scene and staging areas to replenish firetrucks which were running low on fuel. In addition fire crews from as far away as Waterville Valley were dispatched to the scene to relieve exhausted first-responders.
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John Quinn, a staff reporter for Foster's Daily Democrat, contributed to this report.
