Christmas trees light up Nahant skies

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Last Updated, Jan 6, 2024, 8:34 AM

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NAHANT — An approximately 30-foot-tall fire illuminated Bailey’s Hill Park on Friday night, as a crowd gathered to watch this year’s Christmas tree bonfire.

Spectators cheered as Fire Chief Austin Antrim lit four red flares, handed them to three other Nahant firefighters, and set a pile of roughly 100 trees — collected by the Department of Public Works throughout the week — to blaze.

The crowd watches as a Nahant firefighter lights the pile of trees with a flare.

Antrim said that the Town held a few Christmas tree bonfires roughly 20 years ago, but took a long hiatus before its comeback in January 2022. As Town-collected Christmas trees were historically stockpiled and posed a fire hazard, Town Administrator Tony Barletta said he brought the tradition back to provide a fun and safe way to dispose of the dried trees.

“A controlled bonfire is a better option,” Barletta said in 2021.

A firefighter walks around the bonfire, making sure no rogue embers cause an issue.

While preparing the fire hoses for this year’s Christmas tree inferno, Antrim said that trees donated after the event would be used for restoration projects or as compost. He said that while some families burn their own Christmas trees each winter, the practice is not only dangerous but also illegal.

“This is only our third or fourth year doing it in a row, but it’s been a pretty good event,” Antrim said. “It’s just a little fun event to get the community together and a good way to dispose of Christmas trees.”

Most of the crowd were Nahant residents like Rochelle Capobianco, who said she had never seen a real bonfire before Friday night, but plans to attend again next year.

“This is awesome, this is really incredible,” Capobianco said.

A child on their scooter watches the bonfire from behind the barrier.

The bonfire also attracted spectators from out of town. Seven-year-old twins Gino and Melania Espinal came from Salem with their mother to watch the fiery display.

“I like watching the trees burn,” Gino Espinal said.

“Yeah, it was really pretty,” Melania Espinal added.

Anthony Cammalleri is the Daily Item’s Swampscott and Nahant News Reporter. He wrote for Performer Magazine from 2016 until 2018 and has been published in the Boston Globe, and Westford Community Access Television News.

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