CUMBERLAND, R.I. (WPRI) — Firefighters quickly knocked down a brush fire that burned roughly five to eight acres of land in Cumberland Thursday morning. Cumberland Deputy Fire Chief Jeffrey McCabe said the fire broke out in the woods near Nate Whipple Highway and Old Staples Road. "It was taking off on us," McCabe said. "Getting crews on scene as soon as possible and attacking the fires is key in this weather." McCabe said firefighters spent several hours wetting down the brush to prevent future flare-ups. "It's just a long process of wetting it down, cutting up the trees that have fallen," McCabe explained. "We push all that stuff into the already burned area so that it can't spread to an unburned area." McCabe said Cumberland has been lucky overall when it comes to brush fires. "We've had several small ones that were well under an acre. We haven't dealt with what Massachusetts has been dealing with the last few weeks," McCabe said. "I guess it was just our turn." McCabe said that, even though the fire is out, the woods will be closely monitored to make sure the flames don't reignite. "Due to the dryness, when it burns to the ground, you have several days at risk of it coming back," he said. "The leaves are ultra dry, the ground is ultra dry, the dead tree debris is ultra dry ... the fire spread very fast, add a little bit of a breeze to that and it just becomes worse." The cause of the fire remains under investigation at this time. R.I. State Fire Marshal Tim McLaughlin urged Rhode Islanders to heed their warnings. "It's simple. Right now, don't do it at all," McLaughlin said, referring to outdoor burning. "It doesn't take much. One little ember, one little spark, and if it's windy ... it's going to go really fast." "Hold off until we get some rain, let's soak the ground and let's get things so it's not so dry," he continued. "These fires take up a lot of resources, as you saw in Cumberland. They had mutual aid from a lot of surrounding towns for hours." Anyone who notices flames, smoke or other signs of a brush fire is urged to call it in immediately so firefighters can investigate and contain it as quickly as possible. Close Thanks for signing up! Watch for us in your inbox. Subscribe Now Breaking News SIGN UP NOW