Fire burns 50 acres in Sullivan

SULLIVAN — Thick black smoke, visible for miles, billowed over Hancock County Tuesday afternoon as more than 100 firefighters fought to control one of the largest forest fires to strike the area this year. The fire, which burned nearly 50 wooded acres, came within three-quarters of a mile of 35 camps near Flanders Pond, but was contained before reaching them.

The fire was discovered around 1:30 p.m., and in little more than an hour it burned several acres near Flanders Pond. From a vantage point on Punkinville Road, eyewitnesses could watch the cloud of smoke that belched into the sky as gusting winds propelled the fire across nearby wooded areas.

Forest Ranger Jim Downie of the Maine Forest Service said the fire started near the railroad tracks north of Flanders Pond. He said the fire had jumped the railroad tracks and traveled southeast.

“There was a real problem initially when the fire crews started coming in. The forest ranger there on the scene, who has a lot of experience, pulled the people out until they received better information from a pilot in the air. The spot fires were blowing over them. It is easy to get trapped in a situation like that,” he said.

Sullivan Fire Chief Joe Fountaine said late Tuesday evening that nearly 50 acres burned in the fire. He said what made the fire particularly dangerous was that it traveled across the tops of the trees and over the firefighters’ heads. “There were times when the firefighters had to back off because the flames were 15 or 20 feet in the air,” he said.

Suzanne McNeil, whose house is the last point of civilization on the unpaved portion of Punkinville Road, said she had seen the smoke, but by the time she reported the fire, fire crews already had been dispatched to the scene.

“There are a lot of woods out there, and there were a bunch of summer camps built out there on the backside of Flanders Pond,” she said.

McNeil said there had been small fires in the area this year, but they were quickly extinguished. She said she never had seen one as large as the one that erupted Tuesday.

An eyewitness, who was parked on Punkinville Road, said he was in Hancock when he saw the smoke from the fire. “I noticed it at about a quarter past two, and by 2:30 there was a huge cloud of smoke blowing across,” he said.

At 3:15 p.m. Forest Ranger Gerry Nevells said the fire still was burning unchecked. “We’ve got aircraft coming. We are going to try and drop water on it and get it a little bit under control before we put firefighters on it,” he said.

As the fire spread, it licked up the sides of trees and into deeply buried roots and burned wooded areas that included tall stands of pine. At around 3:25 p.m. firefighters from the Hancock Fire Department emerged from the wooded area and reported that they planned to evacuate nearby camps.

Traffic on Route 1 was jammed as officers from the Maine State Police and Maine Forest Service converged on the scene. Firefighters from the surrounding area, also raced to Sullivan.

By 4 p.m. the Maine State Police had blocked the entrances to key roads, including the Punkinville Road, and sightseers were being turned back.

Downie said that by 4:30 p.m. the fire was within three-quarters of a mile from about 35 camps near Flanders Pond. He said the fire had two fronts. “The winds are really playing havoc down there. They have one of them knocked down, and they are working on the other right now.”

Ellsworth Assistant Fire Chief Robert McKenney said that extremely dry conditions had provided optimum conditions for the fire. “The undergrowth is very dry, and it really burns very well. The wind is pushing the fire and creating spot fires in front of the main fire,” he said.

At 6 p.m. the Maine Forest Service called in backhoes and heavy equipment to clear a line around the fire. A short time later a spokesperson for the Maine Forest Service, said that the fire had been contained, even though it still was burning. She said firefighters would continue to use heavy equipment to maintain the line around the hot area. McKenney said he expected firefighters to remain at the scene through the night.

In addition to firefighters from Sullivan, firefighters from Sorrento, Hancock, Gouldsboro, Ellsworth, Franklin, Blue Hill, Trenton, Winter Harbor and Surry helped battle the blaze.

Downie said it was too early to determine what may have caused the fire.