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ISLAND FALLS, Maine — A wildfire broke out Thursday just north of the town of Island Falls near May Mountain, threatening several camps in the area.
According to the Maine Department of Agricultural, Conservation and Forestry, the fire has spread to over 214 acres of land, only 30 percent of which has been contained. Multiple rangers and members of the Island Falls Fire Department, Oakfield Fire Department, and railroad staff were fighting the blaze. Two helicopters were also dispatched to the scene.
The DCAF also states there was an additional, smaller wildfire at Baxter State Park. Forest rangers also exterminated a number of smaller fires throughout the day. Island Falls Fire Department had its resources strained in fighting the blaze, due to an unrelated fire that broke out at Katahdin Forest Products.
Earlier in the day, the U.S. National Weather Service in Caribou had issued a red flag warning for Northern Maine, saying that conditions were ideal for a high risk of fire danger.
“A combination of sunny, warm, and dry conditions along with dry fine fuels (grasses, etc.) will lead to high fire danger today, particularly across northern Maine,” NWS wrote in a Facebook posting earlier in the day.
