LEYDEN — It can take a whole lot of fire to grow some blueberries.

The state Department of Conservation and Recreation (DCR), alongside the Division of Fisheries and Wildlife (MassWildlife), set fire to 23 acres of blueberry heathland in the Leyden Wildlife Management Area on Wednesday. Alex Entrup, a prescribed fire and habitat restoration ecologist with MassWildlife, said the goal was to clear out unwanted trees, brush and other vegetation to make space for wild blueberries to grow.

“We have a site management plan here and one of our main focuses is promoting blueberry balds,” Entrup explained. “There’s important pollinators that use it, but it’s also food for bears, turkeys and other things.”

A blueberry bald is an area of shrubbery where wild blueberries grow. Over the last few decades, birch trees and other shrubs sprouted among the blueberries, creating competition for space and sunlight. MassWildlife has been working for years to restore the area and previously cut back trees that were blocking the berries. A controlled burn served as the next step to clear out the space and any remaining unwanted vegetation.

Blueberries are fairly fire-resistant, and will be able to grow back even stronger after the fire clears the space, according to Entrup.

Typically, prescribed burns are done with a team of 15, but more DCR and MassWildlife staff were part of the work done in Leyden. The team included 30 habitat specialists, ecologists, and fire control and forestry specialists.

Using drip torches fueled with a mix of diesel and gasoline, crews worked their way around the perimeter of the area and then pushed in, carefully burning brush and vegetation while smoke billowed around them.

Entrup said it varies based on weather and the condition of the habitat, but typically an area of that size can be burned in about three hours. Crews remained on site to monitor smoke and make sure it was fully extinguished, and returned the next day to check the area again.

Prescribed burns have been part of land management practices for centuries, according to MassWildlife habitat biologist Patrick Conlin. Prior to MassWildlife taking control of the Leyden property, farmers and Native Americans practiced controlled burning in the area.

“I take a lot of pride in this type of management because it is a continuation of cultural practices that were present here for millennia,” Conlin said.

Conlin noted the makeup of the forest had changed over the years. Without controlled fires or other land management work, other species have popped up and taken hold.

“We can see the legacy of not having fire or any sort of management regime in the forest actually changing the composition,” Conlin said.

In addition to clearing the land and restoring it to what it looked like long ago, the work allows crews to practice controlling brush fires. Crews working on Wednesday got to experience working on steep hills that even their trucks struggled to climb.

“Everyone gets a lot of training out of this,” Entrup said. “It’s important the different agencies share resources and get experience working in different field types.”

Reach Madison Schofield at 413-930-4579 or mschofield@recorder.com.