Model rocket accident sparks fire at Topsfield athletic field

TOPSFIELD - A family using model rockets accidentally sparked a two-acre fire that burned an athletic field in Topsfield Wednesday afternoon.

A 911 caller reported that there was an accident "and there was now a grass fire spreading across the field," the Topsfield Fire Department said. 

Crews from Topsfield and Boxford responded to the blaze at Pye Brook Park in Topsfield, preventing flames from reaching the baseball dugouts, other buildings and the nearby woods. No injuries were reported.

Photos shared by the fire department showed the already dry grass charred by the fire.

"With the recent severe drought, residents and visitors of Topsfield are cautioned as to the dangerous fire conditions that exist," the fire department said. "Activities like using model rocketry, smoking, and cooking/camp fires may seem benign but are immeasurably more likely to cause a fire given the dry conditions Essex County as a whole is experiencing currently."

More than half of Massachusetts is now experiencing severe drought, and the numbers are only getting worse.