The location of the fire was a bigger challenge than fighting it.
RUMFORD – An unpermitted campfire caused Saturday afternoon’s fire atop an unnamed mountain off the Eaton Hill Road, said Rumford Fire Deputy Chief Scott Holmes.
Finding the blaze, which burned about an acre, was harder than extinguishing it, Holmes said.
“It was right toward the top off some ledges to the left of the old fire tower,” Holmes said Saturday, noting that the mountain is between Glass Face and Black mountains. “The problem wasn’t extinguishing it. The problem was finding it, because it was in such a difficult place. Once they found the fire, it was easy to extinguish it.”
Due to the remote location in steep, rugged terrain behind the Baker Farm, it took three teams of firefighters 45 minutes to hike in and find the blaze. Several all-terrain vehicles were also used to ferry equipment and firefighters to and from a command post and staging area.
Firefighters in the three teams were led by Rumford Deputy Chief Peter Chase, Mexico Chief Gary Wentzell and Mexico Deputy Chief Ray Broomhall, who found the fire first.
Once the location was found, a trail was marked and firefighters “used ATVs to get to the fire scene because walking with a 50-pound water tank on your back gets you pretty tired quickly,” said Rumford Lt. Ben Byam.
In addition to Maine Forest Ranger Kendall Knowles, firefighters from Rumford, Mexico, Andover, Peru and Dixfield responded, although Peru firefighters had to leave early to fight a small brush fire in their town.
“Between Rumford and Mexico, the firefighters did a heckuva job,” Holmes said, noting that 25 firefighters extinguished the blaze while another 20 stood by at the staging area.
Med-Care Ambulance set up a rehabilitation site at the staging area “and helped us out really well. But we appreciated all the help from all the companies.
“This is our second grass fire of the year, but we have been to several mutual aid calls and I’d like to stress that if anyone is going to do any burning, that they get a permit and follow the rules for open area burning,” Holmes added.
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