GARDINER — Firefighters cut down a burning tree and used snow to put out the flames Sunday in what officials think was an intentionally set fire on Winter Hill in Gardiner.
Chief Richard Sieberg of the Gardiner Fire Department said the fire, in a dead, hollow tree in the woods atop Winter Hill, appeared to have been started by an unknown person.
Several callers reported the fire just after 5:30 p.m., Sieberg said.
Sieberg said there were no reports of lightning in the area, and nothing else indicated the tree had caught fire through a natural cause, leading officials to suspect the fire had been set.
Police dispatch records show a local homeowner reported having seen at least one teenage boy near a shed in the area, although it was unknown if the boy had a role in starting the fire.
Residents who reported the flames said they thought teenagers had started the fire.
Sieberg said because the fire was in the woods, up a hill and away from the road, firefighters decided against hauling hoses and other gear to the scene. Instead, they cut down the tree, sawed it into pieces and extinguished the flames with snow.
“It was an old, dead tree that was hollowed out, and they got a fire going inside it. It looked like a torch,” Sieberg said. “Luckily, people saw it and reported it, and we were able to cut it down and fill it with snow.”
The fire did not spread to other parts of the wooded area, off Winter Street.
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