VEAZIE – A passing freight train is believed to have sparked a series of brush fires here that kept firefighters from seven area departments busy for six hours Saturday afternoon.

Gusting winds and dry conditions fanned and fueled the weekend fires, which burned nearly 40 acres of field and brush over a mile-long stretch of the Springfield Terminal Railroad right of way between School Street and the Bangor city line.

“The wind was really, really tough, and you get the combination of that and the dry ground and that’s a challenge,” said Veazie Fire Chief Gerry Martin. “But we had a quick response, and it saved a lot of damage and loss of life.”

Crews from Veazie, Bangor, Brewer, Orono, Milford, the Maine Forest Service and the Maine Department of Inland Fisheries and Wildlife battled the blaze, which spread to within 100 yards of the Maine Independence Station, a natural gas-fired power plant.

Two forest service helicopters were enlisted to drop water onto as many as seven separate fires along the railroad tracks.

The cause of the fires remained under investigation, but officials said they likely started as a result of sparks from a faulty brake on a railroad car.

No one was injured, but one Veazie firefighter was treated for exhaustion at Eastern Maine Medical Center in Bangor and released.

Elsewhere around the state, strong winds fanned wildfires in Raymond, Litchfield, Deer Isle, Winn and Eastport.

About 30 firefighters fought the Raymond blaze, which officials said was caused by a group of children playing with matches and fireworks. The fire scorched 2 acres of woods and grass. Two firefighters suffered from smoke inhalation while trying to stamp out the flames.

Jim Downie of the Maine Forest Service said the number of wildfires since early this month is expected to reach 100 by the end of the weekend.

“Lack of rainfall, coupled with all the dead debris left from winter, have made for very high fire danger in many sections of Maine. We strongly caution all property owners to refrain from open debris burning on these windy days.” Downie said.

The Associated Press contributed to this report.