Two wildfires in northern Maine were declared under control Friday after burning a combined 280 acres.
The largest fire, on May Mountain in Island Falls, burned 236 acres before it was brought under control, said Jim Britt, spokesman for the Maine Department of Agriculture, Conservation and Forestry.
A second fire, in Baxter State Park, burned 45 acres before being brought under control, Britt said. Officials had predicted the fire would grow to 100 acres by nightfall Thursday, but the wind shifted and the fire burned less acreage than had been expected.
A few other brush fires around the state flared Friday, Britt said, but all were either out or brought under control by late Friday afternoon.
T2 R10 WELS Abol Fire – Fire behavior. #MEfire pic.twitter.com/rg0pQO25Ak
— Maine Forest Rangers (@MaineRangers) May 22, 2020
A man smoking marijuana in Cooper was blamed for starting a small wildfire in that town Thursday, the Associated Press reported.
The man was mowing a field while smoking a joint, lost his footing and fell and then couldn’t locate the marijuana, the Maine Forest Service reported.
The man walked to his house and then turned to see that a fire had started in the field, AP reported.
Two acres burned, the Forest Service said.
The Forest Service and National Weather Service declared Friday a “red flag warning” day for northern Maine, meaning that warm, dry conditions and gusty winds created conditions for wildfires to start and spread quickly. Britt said the warning was in effect until Friday night, but he wasn’t sure if it would be extended.
As of earlier this month, the Forest Service said there had been 380 forest fires that had burned 180 acres, the AP reported.
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