Wildfires are always a problem in Maine, but in 1947 an out-of-control wildfire devastated the coastal region.
It was a weird weather year in Maine, with a rainy spring followed by a sunny and hot summer. By autumn, the state had only received about 50% of its usual rainfall. A stretch of warm weather in the fall helped contribute to dangerous conditions and fire officials went on alert.
According to the National Park Service, a woman named Mrs. Gilbert called authorities on October 17 to report smoke rising up from a cranberry bog located between her place on Crooked Road near Hulls Cove and Dolliver's Dump. It was never determined what started the fire, or whether it actually started in the bog or in the dump, but the flames spread very quickly and resulted in a fire that took out a large portion of Mount Desert Island.