By Dominik Lobkowicz
Flames leap up the branch of a small spruce as a woods fire spreads in Somerville May 6. (D. Lobkowicz photo) |
A fire of yet unknown origin burned about 2.4 acres of woodland in the Damariscotta Lake Watershed Association’s West Branch Preserve in Somerville May 6.
Somerville Volunteer Fire Department was paged out to a fire on Rocky Mountain Road, off of North Mountain Road, at 11:34 a.m.
A number of departments from area towns, including Jefferson, Whitefield, Washington, Windsor, and Waldoboro, as well as the Maine Forest Service, also responded and helped in various roles with the firefighting effort.
A helicopter from the Maine Forest Service drops water on a woods fire in Somerville. (D. Lobkowicz photo) |
Forest Peaslee, who lives near the preserve, said he was out feeding his buffalo when he smelled smoke from the fire. After heading out to investigate, Peaslee called his wife and they both called in to report the fire, he said.
The fire ended up burning close to Peaslee’s buffalo pasture, just a few yards away from an access road that follows the fencing.
No one was around the area where the fire started when Peaslee arrived, he said.
“It must have just started all by itself,” he said.
According to Peaslee, the same area burned about 150 years ago, and he said he had charred stumps that had been saved from the earlier fire.
Firefighters used hoses and Indian tanks to surround and extinguish the fire, and were supplemented by a Maine Forest Service helicopter which dropped water several times.
Somerville Fire Chief Mike Dostie uses an Indian tank to target a hotspot as Lt. Martha Staples looks on. (D. Lobkowicz photo) |
Roughly two hours after the page went out, fire crews had contained the flames and were working back through the burned areas to put out hot spots, according to Somerville Fire Chief Mike Dostie.
“Huge thanks to the fire departments that came out here today,” said Jody Jones, executive director for the DLWA, who came out to the scene.
“It looks like they caught it early and saved most of our preserve, which is great for us, the community, and all the animals that live here,” Jones said.
The West Branch Preserve is a little over 500 acres in total, Jones said, describing it as a “gem.”
Large blocks of land like the preserve “are really key to protecting the animals we want here in the future,” she said.
