Massive Blaze At Former Green Mountain Racetrack
A massive fire was being fought in the early morning hours of Thursday by Multiple fire departments at the former Green Mountain Racetrack in Pownal, VT.
IBerkshires.com reports that the fire apparently started sometime late Wednesday night. Large amounts of smoke were coming the rear of the now defunct building and shortly before 1:30 AM fire began to appear in the front of the structure.
The structure, a 64,000-square-foot glass and metal grandstand and some smaller outbuildings are set back from Route 7. Access to the site was limited to emergency vehicles, of which there was a long line of at the southern entrance to the property.
According to the publication, tankers roared up and down Route 7 as they refilled from a hydrant the Pownal Fire Department on Route 346.
According to iBerkshires, an incomplete list of responding fire departments — gathered from scanner calls — included Pownal, Pownal Valley, Bennington Rural, Hoosick Falls, N.Y., Shaftsbury, Arlington, Stamford, and Williamstown, Mass.
Concert promoter, Michael Sayers had plans in place for a large music festival at the track that was supposed to happen in March, despite the concerns of the town select board. The coronavirus pandemic however forced the rescheduling of that event, Berkshirestock 2, until next July. Sayers had several major bands booked for the festival including, Quiet Riot, Molly Hatchet, Powerman 5000, and Blackfoot among them.
The property is currently owned by Green Mountain Racetrack LLC, which nearly lost it to foreclosure last year.