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How frequently do forest fires occur in Maine? At least from my perspective living in the Mid-Atlantic you don't seem to hear about large scale fires in Maine, only out West where they suffer from dry spells. Just curious. Do folks with camps in remote areas tend to clear a perimeter within a certain distance around buildings? In the Pinelands of southern Jersey (1 million square miles of some of the most unspoiled wilderness in the state) the forest fire service recommends at least a 100 foot perimeter around homes clear of brush and trees. They tend to have at least a few fires every year, but the fire service also does prescribed burns. About five years ago they suffered a terrible fire that burned tens of thousands of acres due to an accidental release of incendiary munitions during the driest part of the Summer by an Air Force pilot on a training mission. The Warren Grove bombing range is located within the Pinelands. Anyway, just wondering.
How frequently do forest fires occur in Maine? At least from my perspective living in the Mid-Atlantic you don't seem to hear about large scale fires in Maine, only out West where they suffer from dry spells. Just curious. Do folks with camps in remote areas tend to clear a perimeter within a certain distance around buildings? In the Pinelands of southern Jersey (1 million square miles of some of the most unspoiled wilderness in the state) the forest fire service recommends at least a 100 foot perimeter around homes clear of brush and trees. They tend to have at least a few fires every year, but the fire service also does prescribed burns. About five years ago they suffered a terrible fire that burned tens of thousands of acres due to an accidental release of incendiary munitions during the driest part of the Summer by an Air Force pilot on a training mission. The Warren Grove bombing range is located within the Pinelands. Anyway, just wondering.
we've had our share of fires, but we dont have droughts, around here, like other places, also,,,we've had smokey the bear commercials for 50 yrs telling us not to start forest fires, only YOU can prevent forest fires
mainebrokerman: There have been a few summers when some of my neighbors' wells have gone dry. (not saying the droughts are like other places) I remember one summer when my mom had about 20 buckets in the yard gathering rain water because the well water was low and rain was sporadic. We didn't drink the rain water or cook with it but used it to flush. She didn't want to take a chance on the well going dry. We also did all the laundry at the laundry mat (city water) that summer to conserve our well water. My dad worked for a company where he was sent out numerous times to fight forest fires on land the company owned.
we've had our share of fires, but we don't have droughts, around here, like other places...
Careful there.
Everything is subject to change and with Arctic summer ice setting new lows every September, who really knows about rainfall in Maine, going forward?
My potato farmer neighbor recently said that dry conditions this summer were about the worst he's ever seen it in his 30+ years of farming (Houlton area.)
As average soil temperatures warm up, even a little bit, we need more rain just to stay even. Maine gets less rain than areas to our south, but our soil usually avoids drought conditions because the soil stays so cool. But overall in New England, out of the last 36 months, only about 7 have been below normal in temperature, including the month that closed out yesterday.
How frequently do forest fires occur in Maine? At least from my perspective living in the Mid-Atlantic you don't seem to hear about large scale fires in Maine, only out West where they suffer from dry spells. Just curious. Do folks with camps in remote areas tend to clear a perimeter within a certain distance around buildings? In the Pinelands of southern Jersey (1 million square miles of some of the most unspoiled wilderness in the state) the forest fire service recommends at least a 100 foot perimeter around homes clear of brush and trees. They tend to have at least a few fires every year, but the fire service also does prescribed burns. About five years ago they suffered a terrible fire that burned tens of thousands of acres due to an accidental release of incendiary munitions during the driest part of the Summer by an Air Force pilot on a training mission. The Warren Grove bombing range is located within the Pinelands. Anyway, just wondering.
Thank You, thank you for using the term "forest fire" instead of the over-used, TV news word of the day, excitement inducing '' WILD FIRE" it's not a prairie fire, not a grass fire, not a bush fire, it's a forest fire, now they even have Smokey the bear using this moronic term. thanks
Thank You, thank you for using the term "forest fire" instead of the over-used, TV news word of the day, excitement inducing '' WILD FIRE" it's not a prairie fire, not a grass fire, not a bush fire, it's a forest fire, now they even have Smokey the bear using this moronic term. thanks
wild-fire was a pony , that came down from yellow mountain
mainebrokerman: There have been a few summers when some of my neighbors' wells have gone dry. (not saying the droughts are like other places) I remember one summer when my mom had about 20 buckets in the yard gathering rain water because the well water was low and rain was sporadic. We didn't drink the rain water or cook with it but used it to flush. She didn't want to take a chance on the well going dry.
No problem with that here, I've even filled my pool from the well, about 12,000 gallons.
I'm a land guy. New Jersey does not have a million square miles. That would be an area thousand by a thousand miles. I have been in the Pine Barrens of NJ. They would be hard pressed to find a million acres, much less a million square miles.
That said, we don't have many large fires in Maine. The last big ones were on Mt. Desert Island in 1947, the Berwick area in 1947 and the Baxter Park fire around 1975. Most forest fires in Maine are caused by trains, lightning and careless campers.
Depending on the site of your camp or home, you must consider the vegetation by type and proximity at your site. The Maine Forest Service recommend a large area of fuel free ground around your home or camp. A few widely spaced shade trees are OK. Here's the problem: If you follow the recommendations of the Maine Forest Service, The Maine Department of Environmental Protection will fine you or put you in jail!
The state was dotted with fire towers till the 90's when they were abandoned for aircraft patrolling. Only 3 in York County are manned during the dry times [summer mostly] by members of the Southern Maine Fire Notification Association, a group of fire buffs. Their freq is 464.850 However you should look up Maine forest service freqs at radioreference.com, Each sector has different frequencies [unknown if they have gone to digital yet]
A very good book was written by my long lost friend David Hilton [a York Firefighter and co founder of SMFNA] called From York to the Allagash Forest Fire Lookouts of Maine [Dave left us in May of 2003] You can get it on Amazon I do believe. he travelled quite a bit for this information.
Having fought a few woods fires in my time i can say what we have in Maine is nothing compared to what they have in western states. the reason for the bad fires in 1947 was the fact it was a very dry summer and fall the leaves dried up and were on the ground and a single spark could set it off. Radio Communications were not fully used at the time and U gotta remember firetrucks in those days were the size of an F 250 or 350. had smaller pumps and small water tanks less the 500 gallons. Also they had some winds back then as well as fire creating winds. If you ever are in a firestorm you will remember it for the rest of your life [mine scared the crap outta me]
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Here are a few more links.
] You can get it on Amazon I do believe. he travelled quite a bit for this information.
