State Forest Fire Rangers say a fast moving outdoor fire that burned more than 300 acres of scrub oak and pitch pine in the Kennebunk area near Sanford and Wells has been contained.
District Ranger George Harris says the fire started just after 5 p.m. yesterday. He says yesterday's warm temperatures and strong winds, along with the fact that things haven't yet greened up, contributed to the fire.
“So we're looking at dead leaves, dead grass, all conducive to contributing to spring fires.”
Drones from the York County Emergency Management Agency were among the resources used by firefighters to help contain a fast moving outdoor blaze that consumed more than three hundred acres of scrub oak and pitch pine in the Kennebunk area near Sanford and Wells. Harris says the drones are equiped with infrared sensors.
“So they can detect heat spots, and they were able to provide us video to strategically place firefighters to hit those places first,” he says.
Harris says firefighters also used a helicopter, bulldozers and atv's converted to firefighting use in their efforts to bring the fire under control.
Harris says the fire scene will be monitored for the next few days to make sure everything is out. An investigation is underway to determine how the fire started.