EXETER, R.I. (WPRI) — The investigation continues into the cause of a brush fire that scorched nearly 700 acres in Exeter last week.

Investigators appeared to have traced the massive brush fire back to the Queen River Nature Preserve, where an abandoned campsite was discovered over the weekend.

The brush fire is currently 95% contained, according to Exeter Fire Chief Scott Gavitt, though there are still hot-spots smoldering in the center.

“I’m not so concerned about that because there’s nothing that can burn around it,” Gavitt said.

Gavitt doesn’t expect the fire to be completely extinguished until the state receives at least three inches of rainfall.

The brush fire threatened the safety of dozens of homes surrounding the Queen River Nature Preserve. Rhode Island State Police troopers rushed from door to door warning residents to evacuate as flames engulfed the woods.

More than 200 firefighters from departments as far as Central Connecticut were called in to assist. Gov. Dan McKee toured the site Monday and took the time to thank everyone who helped get it under control.

“It was a remarkable effort,” the governor said. “This was a fire we have not seen in quite some time. We get fires every year, but not of this size.”

The Rhode Island National Guard’s Black Hawk team went to and from the Exeter Country Club for hours, filling up a 600-gallon bucket with water to douse the flames. It was the second time in less than a week, and in the Rhode Island National Guard’s history, that the Black Hawk team was called in to drop water onto a fire.

Two days prior, firefighters spent nearly two days knocking down a brush fire in West Greenwich that burned more than 150 acres.

No one was injured, nor were any homes damaged in either fire.

The Nature Conservancy tells 12 News the Queens River Nature Preserve is closed for the time being as volunteers assess the damage. It’s unclear at this time when it will reopen.

Anyone with information regarding the fire’s origin is urged to contact the Office of the State Fire Marshal at (401) 383-7723.