Brush fires in Wells and Saco kept firefighters in York County busy Thursday night and delayed Amtrak Downeaster trains.

Rail service was reported to have resumed Friday morning.

Crews from Ogunquit and York were called in by the town of Wells to help fight a brush fire that started around 8 p.m. Thursday on Bradgon Road near the railroad tracks.

Oqunquit firefighters reported that crews fought three separate fires, which burned about 4 acres along the tracks. They said no homes were threatened.

“The fire department continues to have a hold on all train movement on the railroad due to the large brush fires near the railroad tracks in Wells,” Amtrak said in a statement posted on its website late Thursday night. “Alternative transportation arrangements for passengers on train 687 and 688 are underway.”

Vincent Pelletier, a captain with the Saco Fire Department, said his department responded at 5:38 p.m. to a report of a brush fire at 5 Bayview Terrace.

The fire burned about a half-acre of woods and destroyed a shed. The fire was so intense that it melted the vinyl siding off the rear side of a nearby home.

The Maine Forest Service said Thursday that the entire state is at high risk for wildfires.

“We’ve had a little rain, but it just hasn’t been enough. It is pretty dry out there,” Pelletier said.


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