NEW HAMPSHIRE’S FASTEST GROWING ONLINE NEWSPAPER

Nearly four acres charred in West Lebanon woods fire

Comment Print
Related Articles
One firefighters pours water on hot spots while others look for more during Friday's woods fire off Prospect Hill Road in West Lebanon. (Lebanon Fire and EMS Facebook Page photo)

WEST LEBANON - Lebanon fire crews are expected to be back at the site of a woods fire off Prospect Hill Road looking for hot spots today after battling it for nearly five hours Friday afternoon.

The fire was reportedly spotted by a passing plane around 3:50 p.m., and quickly went to two alarms after fire crews upon arrival learned it was centered in deep woods west of Prospect Hill Road in the area of a sand pit.

Nearly four acres was charred in the blaze, which drew responses from several fire departments including Milton, Rochester, Wakefield and Farmington.

Firefighters had a tough time fighting the fire because trucks couldn't get through the rough terrain to reach the blaze and instead had to rely on forestry equipment and ATVs with gas generators to pump water onto the flames.

Smoke was first spotted by a Prospect Hill Road resident around 2 p.m. who notified this writer, who in turn reported a suspected fire to the Milton Fire Department.

Firefighters, after hearing more reports of smoke and the smell of smoke in the area, dispatched to Prospect Hill Road in search of the suspected blaze but couldn't find it, neighbors told The Lebanon Voice. Later a pilot flying for Skydive New England spotted the location of the blaze and called it in.

The property thought to be the site of the blaze belongs to Howe and Howe Technologies of Waterboro, whose robotic armament and extreme vehicle fabrication were once tested at the sand pit and featured on the Discovery Channel several years ago.

The brothers began a no-trespass policy after a December 2013 vandalism and metal theft incident left some of their test equipment including a bunker ruined.

The area is often frequented by kids on dirt bikes and individuals target practicing.

The fire is being investigated by the Maine Forest Service.

Read more from:
Top Stories
Tags:
None
Share:
Comment Print
Powered by Bondware
News Publishing Software

The browser you are using is outdated!

You may not be getting all you can out of your browsing experience
and may be open to security risks!

Consider upgrading to the latest version of your browser or choose on below: