Manchester brush fire draws ground, air attack across 4 acres of woodland

MANCHESTER — Firefighters from five communities and the Maine Forest Service worked to knock down a brush fire Monday that spread across 4 acres of woodland just off Summerhaven Road.

Manchester Fire Chief Frank Wozniak said Tuesday that firefighters were called Monday afternoon to a wooded area on the east side of town, where they worked for about five hours to put the fire out.

Wozniak, who returned to the scene of the fire Tuesday to check for hot spots, said he doesn’t know yet what caused the fire.

“It’s under investigation,” Wozniak said. “I can’t discuss that at the moment.”

Even though central Maine received a historic amount of rain just a week ago, the finer fuels — like grasses and dried leaves — dry out quickly, and can be fuel for wildland fires.

“Although the ground may be saturated, everything on the top side is still dry and easily combustible,” he said Tuesday, as officials continued to warn against burning amid a high fire danger level.

Wozniak said wind gusts led to the spread of the fire, but no buildings were threatened by the blaze.

In addition to Manchester, firefighters from Augusta, Belgrade, Hallowell and Sidney responded, as did a helicopter from the Maine Forest Service, which dumped water on the flames.

In responding to the fire, the Hallowell Fire Department deployed its utility task vehicle, which it had acquired from the Manchester Fire Department. The utility vehicle was “critical to controlling this large fire” as it spread across the “rugged country,” the department said in a Facebook post.

Hallowell Fire Chief Jim Owens said the fire was in the Tyler Pond area, more than a half-mile away from Summerhaven Road, and the vehicle was able to ferry firefighters to the scene of the fire.