CLIFTON – A 3-acre wildfire near Springy Pond was among more than a dozen that swept through Maine Thursday.

As of 5:30 p.m., others had been reported in Bucksport, Lubec, Robbinston, Marshfield, Greenville Junction, East Millinocket, Somerville and Northport, according to Maine Forest Service spokesman Jim Downie. Whiting and Leeds had two forest fires apiece, he said.

“We fully expect a busy remainder of the week,” Downie said, adding that many commercial blueberry growers planned to burn last year’s old growth over the weekend, before tender new growth begins to emerge.

Though Maine is only a week into its annual forest fire season, Downie said matters appear to be progressing quicker than usual because of this year’s relatively rainless spring. The dryness, combined with a winter’s worth of dead vegetation and leaves and light brush, make for prime fire conditions throughout much of Maine.

Most of the wildfires that occur in the spring are preventable, Downie said. Because there is little lightning in the spring, nine out of 10 forest fires that occur at this time involve some kind of human element.

He urged Mainers to avoid burning debris on windy days. If they must, he said, they should first obtain a permit from their local fire warden and attempt to confine burning to nighttime, when temperatures are cooler and there is less wind.

The forest fire in Clifton, which involved about 3 acres of mixed growth forest, does not appear to be connected to a fire in Clifton Wednesday that destroyed a storage barn and spread to nearby fields and lawns before it was extinguished, Downie said.

Downie said that the Forest Service sent a helicopter and rangers to the scene of Thursday’s forest fire. They complemented local fire crews who attacked the fire with hand-held firefighting equipment.

Downie said that as many as four of Thursday’s fires are believed to have been deliberately set. He urged anyone with information to call the Maine Wildland Arson Reward Program at (800) 987-0257. All calls to the hot line are confidential. Information leading to an arrest or conviction could yield a cash reward of up to $2,000.