VIDEO: The bold red stripe that stretched across much of Maineโs drought monitor map in recent months has been cause for real worry.
Worries about farm crops having enough water to grow, and worries about whether apple trees will blossom normally next springโworries, too, about wells and whether thousands of homeowners could run low on water. And one worry most Mainers typically do not experience: fire.
Western states have seen terrible forest and wildland fires in recent years, but Maine normally gets enough rain to minimize fire danger.
This year has been different. As drought became severe in many parts of the state and then extreme in some, the Maine Forest Service was getting prepared.
โEverything, from surface fuel to deep ground fuels, were very dry, very available to burn,โ Joe Mints, director of forest fire training for the Maine Forest Service, said.
This year, he says, rivaled the worst fire year in Maineโs modern history. โThis year [has been] as close as weโve been to the conditions of 1947.โ
