Firefighters scramble to stop remote blazes

HARMONY – Three forest fires were reported Tuesday in eastern Maine, prompting forest rangers to warn the public to be careful in wooded areas. A lack of rain and high temperatures have dried out forest vegetation.

On Tuesday morning, when a resident called in a sighting of smoke between Devil’s Head Road on St. Albans Mountain and Great Moose Lake, area fire departments had to scramble to find the location.

The blaze eventually was discovered on the Harmony side of the mountain along an old railroad bed, but the location was so remote that Harmony firefighters had to encircle the mountain and enter the area through St. Albans.

The fire first was reported at 11:40 a.m., and approximately 35 firefighters from five towns still were at the scene four hours later.

According to St. Albans fire dispatcher Arthur Tyler, foam units had responded and literally were walking miles into the woods to get to the fire. A Department of Conservation helicopter was dropping water around the perimeter of the fire throughout the afternoon.

According to a press release from Forest Ranger Jim Downie of the Maine Forest Service, crews were hoping to complete a bulldozer trench around the fire by late afternoon. No structures were in the immediate area, he said, and no cause has yet been determined.

Tyler said there was no estimate Tuesday afternoon of how many acres were involved, but that firefighters at the scene had radioed back that it was “a good size.”

Firefighters from Harmony, St. Albans, Athens, Corinna and Hartland responded to the fire, while Pittsfield firefighters stood by at the St. Albans Fire Department.

Downie said forest rangers also responded Tuesday to small forest fires near Grand Lake Stream and Nicatous Lake in eastern Maine. Those fires were contained to less than one acre each.