HARRISON — Fire crews from five surrounding towns, as well as Central Maine Power officials and Maine Forestry fire protection crews, responded Wednesday afternoon to a wildfire that burned between 2 to 3 acres along power lines located off of Temple Hill Road.
Harrison Town Manager George Finch confirmed that wires were down in the area of the fire, but it was unclear if the downed wires caused the fire or came down as a result of the fire.
Fire and rescue departments from Harrison, Otisfield, Bridgton, Norway and Paris responded, and the fire department from Waterford was called in to cover Harrison’s station. Finch said the large response was necessary because of the conditions, but that the fire was under control and posed no danger to nearby homes as of 3:15 p.m.
“A lot of it right now is precautionary because it’s so hot and dry,” Finch said.
PACE Paramedic Services had two ambulances at the scene as a precautionary measure.
“You have to have a stabilizing team here should anyone get heat exhaustion,” Finch said. “It’s hard to deal with these things with all that gear on.”
Jamie Andrews was acting as fire ground control at the scene. He said crews would remain on the scene to dig up ground where the fire may still be smoldering in the roots of trees and brush. Harrison Public Works Department used a backhoe to assist with those efforts.
The fire took place just several hundred yards from where a contractor working on power lines near the Kimball Street Substation received a shock earlier in the day and had to be transported to the hospital.
mjerkins@sunmediagroup.net
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