UPDATED 7:26 p.m.
HARTFORD — A fast-spreading fire blazed through 23 acres of woods off Labrador Pond Road Saturday.
It took several hours for Maine Forest Rangers and firefighters from nearly a dozen towns to get the fire under control, due both to weather conditions and the fire’s remote location.
“It’s dry; the relative humidity is low, believe it or not,” said District Ranger Gregg Hesslein. “There was some wind. It was hard to get to, so (it was) a long time before they could get some people on it. There was a lot (of) oak leaf litter that was just very dry and ready to burn.”
The fire was reported around 1:30 p.m. Several departments were called in to assist, including the Maine Forest Rangers with a helicopter.
There were no injuries. Although some homes in the area were threatened, Hesslein said, none caught fire.
It is unclear what started the fire, though Hesslein said it may have been caused by someone burning debris without a permit. The Maine Forest Service is investigating.
Fire officials were expected to stay on site overnight.
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- BUCKETS — A water-dropping helicopter fills at Labrador Pond in Sumner on Saturday while fighting a fire in Hartford.
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- Buckfield Volunteer Fire Department father-and-son team, Will, left, and Joe Deane, hook up to a tank engine Saturday in Hartford on Nezinscot Mesa Road, close to Labrador Pond Road, to fight a fire in the woods. Besides Buckfield and Hartford, units from Peru, Sumner, Canton, Paris, Hebron, Norway, Woodstock and Minot responded to the blaze.
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- Fire burns in the woods of Hartford on Saturday. Maine Forest Rangers say more than 20 acres burned Saturday off Labrador Pond Road in Hartford.
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- Fire burns in the woods off Labrador Pond Road in Hartford on Saturday afternoon.
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- WOODS FIRE — Fire burns in the woods off Labrador Pond Road in Hartford on Saturday afternoon.
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- SMOKE IN THE WOODS — Fire burns in the woods in Sumner on Saturday afternoon.
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