Massive Fire at Green Mountain Race Track (PHOTOS)

A defunct race track went up in flames late last night, prompting responses from multiple area Fire Departments, according to iBerkshires.

Green Mountain Racetrack in Pownal, Vermont, just over the boarder from Williamstown, went up in flames late Wednesday night, sending smoke billowing over the Northern Berkshires. Smoke could be seen pouring from the back of the 64,000 square-foot grandstand building located on the side of the track. By about 1:20 a.m., heavy fire began to appear in the front of the building.

An unofficial count of eight departments, including Powal, Pownal Valley, Bennington Rural, Hoosick Falls, N.Y., Shaftsbury, Arlington, Stamford, and Williamstown, were battling the massive blaze into the morning.

Route 7, where the track is located, and access to the site was limited to emergency vehicles. A long line of emergency vehicles and tankers paraded up and down Route 7 as they refilled from a hydrant, however the size of the structure and especially access to water appeared to be hampering firefighters' efforts, according to scanner reports.

Multiple fire companies are currently battling a major fire at the Green Mountain arace Track. Please use caution on route 7 when traveling this morning.
Posted by Pownal Fire Department on Wednesday, September 16, 2020

Firefighters from around the area are battling a large fire at the former Green Mountain Racetrack in #PownalVT. The...
Posted by iBerkshires.com on Wednesday, September 16, 2020

Besides the race track's history of harness racing in the early 1960 and eventually dog racing in the 1970's, some Berkshire residents might remember that the track was home to the Lollapalooza Music Festival's only New England stop back in 1996.

The building hasn't been used in years and according to iBerkshires a concert promoter's Facebook page has several postings from June and July about the building being boarded up over safety concerns "until it is demolished."