One Hull of a tradition: A massive Thanksgiving bonfire

For decades in the seaside town of Hull, many residents have marked Thanksgiving with the typical traditions: the high school football game, a turkey dinner and, of course, a massive town-sponsored bonfire.

This is no small burn. Thousands of wood pallets, stacked 30 feet high, blaze for hours Thanksgiving evening starting at 6:30. Hundreds of people come to watch.

The guy in charge of it all is Hull Fire Chief Chris Russo, who has been working the bonfire since he started as a firefighter 40 years ago.

"The people, they really do enjoy it," Russo said. "It's unique, that's for sure. I think you could probably see this from space."

A bonfire like this is actually written into Massachusetts state law. Each town can have a single "ceremonial bonfire" each year to mark a "significant municipal, state, or national event." It can't burn for more than 12 hours.

The state Fire Marshal's office said they don't track how many towns take advantage of their one allowed bonfire. But Massachusetts has a long tradition of lighting things on fire — and competing to see who can do it the biggest.

As The Atlantic reported in 2011, in the early 20th century cities and towns marked Independence Day with massive public bonfires. (They may have been taking instruction from Quincy's own John Adams, who wrote that the anniversary of the Declaration of Independence signing should be celebrated with "pomp and parade, with shows, games, sports, guns, bells, bonfires, and illuminations, from one end of this continent to the other.")

Salem's massive blazes on Gallows Hill became nationally famous, but the tradition tapered off in the 60s. It became harder to find barrels to burn. And fireworks became an easier substitute. (Rockport has a similar tradition on July 4.)

Russo said he's not sure when Hull's bonfire tradition started. It's been held on vacant land used as beach parking in the summer since at least the 1960s, when the houses there were razed as part of an urban renewal plan. Before that, some remember the fire taking place further up the peninsula near the high school, at a field known as the "The Dustbowl."

The burn materials come from local companies who want to get rid of (clean) wood pallets, Russo said. A few weeks before Thanksgiving, the town workers collect the leftover skids and stack them up using an excavator grapple.

Firefighters on duty Thanksgiving night light and then monitor the blaze. Some police officers are called in to work overtime to manage traffic and the crowds. Russo said the costs are nominal.

" It's a very well-managed, smooth event with a tremendous turnout," he said.

Russo said he's pretty sure Hull's bonfire is the biggest in the state — and certainly the longest running. On Thanksgiving night, many of the town's 10,000 residents will be out there. Some will run into friends they haven't seen all year.

"We're just trying to keep it going and keep history and tradition alive," he said.