GILEAD (AP) — Town firefighters and Maine Forest Service rangers battled a fiveacre wildfire in the mountains in Gilead.
Officials say the fire burned in an area off U.S. Route 2 in an area that’s hard to get to.
Firefighters from Greenwood, Gilead and Bethel had to use ATVs to get to a forest clearing and then hike in to the fire site. Forest Service Ranger Kent Nelson says about two dozen firefighters were on the scene, traversing treacherous, steep ledges on the side of a mountain.
A Forest Service helicopter dropped water on the fire. At one point, the helicopter dropped continually for at least a half-hour, making 12-15 drops with water from the Androscoggin River.
The fire began amid dry, windy conditions Wednesday from an unknown cause.
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