Rangers, Firefighters Douse Runaway Maine Brush Fire

SEBEC, Maine -- A brush fire near a two-story home off Hughes Road got out of control Friday evening, scorching the outer edge of a nearby spruce tree farm and coming within 50 feet of reaching the house before rangers and firefighters were able to put it out.

"We were able to knock it down pretty quick. It was right on the plantation's edge, but the structure wasn't damaged," said Maine Forest Service Ranger Ben Goodwin, the first to arrive at the scene of the fire.

Luckily the ranger, who is stationed in Brownville, was close by when he received the report.

"I was only a couple minutes down the road because I was giving a summons to someone who was burning unauthorized material," Goodwin said. "I have some backpack tanks and we were able to get it before it got into the treeline."

The house is located at the end of a long dirt driveway off Hughes Road, which is near Route 16.

"They were burning some brush, which they didn't have a permit for, and the fire got away from them," Goodwin said.

Goodwin said the fire call went out at 5 p.m. He, another ranger and a half dozen Sebec firefighters, who came with two engines, had the fire totally out by 5:40 p.m.

"It ignited some piles of trash and brush," Goodwin said. "We had a fire helicopter on standby, but we didn't need it."

No one was injured in the brush fire.

Goodwin said the fire danger was Class 3, or orange, on Friday. Five is the highest on the danger scale.

The owners of the property were given a summons for burning without a permit, which is a Class E crime.

Copyright 2012 - Bangor Daily News, Maine

McClatchy-Tribune News Service