Bicyclists and walkers view the aftermath of Thursday’s fire off the East Bay Bike Path on the Bristol-Warren town line yesterday.

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The Providence Journal Frieda Squires

BRISTOL — Firefighters doused hot spots early yesterday morning in the area where a brush fire sparked a day earlier, damaging a boardwalk owned by the Audubon Society of Rhode Island.

The brush fire was reported Thursday at about 4 p.m. near Hanley Farm Road, in neighboring Warren, and spread south toward the East Bay Bike Path and Narragansett Bay, burning wooded areas and marshland near the North Farm residential development and the Audubon educational center. Bristol firefighters blocked off a half-mile section of the bike path as they battled the fire.

Burning phragmites were responsible for the thick black smoke that could be seen for miles Thursday afternoon.

The Warren police are asking anyone with information on how the fire might have started to call (401) 245-1311.

“There was a witness that stated that while they were out in the vicinity, they heard three juveniles saying something along the lines of, ‘I’m not getting caught for this, let’s get out of here,’ ” Warren Police Lt. Joseph Loiselle said yesterday. “Then we got a call from somebody along Blount Shipyard who observed some jet skis leaving the area of the fire shortly before the fire was reported.”

The bike path was reopened yesterday. The smell of smoke hung in the air, and blackened land and charred trees marked an area west of the path that had been bordered by dense fields of scrub and reeds.

Yesterday afternoon, workers from the state Department of Environmental Management, which helps manage the bike path, replaced portions of the log fence on either side of the path that were burnt by the flames.

The Audubon Society is still trying to assess the extent of damage to its boardwalk, which cost $1 million to build in 2000 and crosses over the bike path to a salt marsh along the Bay. While the society has insurance, fundraising will likely be needed to help pay for the repairs.

“We lost a big chunk of it right in the middle and there was heavy damage at the end,” said Jeff Hall, the society’s director of advancement. “The Fire Department said that even though the deck looked fine, there’s a lot of charred, burned places underneath. It’s going to be a significant expense.”

“We’re just thankful no one was on the boardwalk and no one got hurt,” Hall added.

The fire, he said, was mostly contained to the west side of the bike path, and although it leveled a significant amount of phragmites, those reeds are invasive and the Audubon staff isn’t bemoaning the loss. “They’ll come back strong,” Hall said.

Since it’s only the start of nesting season, not much wildlife was in the area at the time of the brush fire, Hall said.

“There may have been some frogs or turtles that couldn’t get out of the way,” Hall said. “Even after the fire, the birds were back flying over the trees and roosting for the night. If there was a time of year for it to happen, it’s better earlier in the season than later. A lot of marsh will grow back. It will be bright, vivid green.”

All Earth Day activities and events at the Audubon’s Environmental Education Center will be held as planned today, from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m.

“We’ll use the fire as a lesson to explain how nature bounces back,” Hall said. “Fires have been part of the environment forever. It was a quick, hot fire, and burned a lot of groundcover, but the trees near the bike path will be back. It would have gotten a lot nastier if it had gone up into North Farm and hopped the bike path. The habitat acted as a barrier.”

akuffner@projo.com