"Almost all of Massachusetts remains in critical drought conditions," Wark said. "Certainly the recent precipitation has helped to suppress new fires, but it will not extinguish any of the longer ongoing fires."
In Great Barrington, zero percent of the 1388-acre fire at the Butternut Ski Area has been contained. Smaller wildfires in areas including Canton, Salem, Foxborough, and Franklin have been more successfully contained by authorities but still risk igniting falling leaves and endangering residents who approach the area.
The recent rainfall following a critically dry fall season has provided some reprieve from the drought-induced wildfires, but officials say they are still worried about keeping flammable land calm. The U.S. Drought Monitor has declared all of Massachusetts to be in either "extreme" or "severe" drought, with the exception of Cape Cod and the Islands.
"We got the much needed rainfall, but one or two rain events doesn't completely alleviate the drought," said Hayden Frank, meteorologist at the National Weather Service.
Boston Globe meteorologist Ken Mahan has said that this fall has become the driest one on record in Boston since 1914.
A spokesperson for the Boxford Fire Department said Sunday that the bout of rain did help the brush fire in Boxford State Forest that spread to about 126 acres of land last week. But Fire Chief Brian Geiger still had concerns about the hiking trails where hot spots underneath the ground indicate the presence of geothermal activity.
On Friday, a coalition of leaders from Boxford, Danvers, Middletown, North Andover, and North Reading signed a joint declaration announcing a state of emergency due to the continued brushfires in the region. Over 500 acres have burned since the end of October, authorities said.
"Declaration of this emergency brings further attention to the crisis circumstances we are enduring in our region," Matt Coogan, town administrator of Boxford, said in a statement. "Every day firefighters from our entire region are joining us to battle these brushfires."
The brushfires have caused "hazardous impacts" including heavy smoke, falling trees, loss of forest stock, and obstruction of roadways, officials said.
While the future of the region's drought remains unclear, New Englanders have been advised to do their part to prevent new fires. Officials have said the majority of the fires were caused by human actions.
Wark said the department urges residents to continue following local and state guidelines regarding outdoor fires and "use caution and common sense" with sparks and open flames. Residents should avoid outdoor cooking and heating and using gas-powered lawn equipment during the upcoming holiday season.
Additionally, he said it's important to properly dispose of smoking materials by using an ashtray, shoveling the ashes into a metal container, and dousing them with water after using a fireplace or wood stove. If ashes are dumped outdoors, dry leaves and vegetation could ignite.