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No charges expected in Lebanon brush fire that broke out near cemetery

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Fire trucks and firefighters position themselves during a brush fire on Prospect Hill in May. (Lebanon Voice file photo)

WEST LEBANON - While human cause was determined in last month's brush fire on Prospect Hill, a state Forest Ranger said today no one will be charged in the blaze.

"They interviewed several people, but there just wasn't enough evidence to charge anyone," Maine Forest Ranger Claudette Desautels said today.

The fire broke out around 1:30 p.m. on May 10 near the Prospect Hill Road cemetery and was reported by a woman walking her dog.

The blaze proved difficult to fight due to stiff breezes, low humidity and the inability to get the big fire trucks closer to the fire due to the terrain, Assistant Lebanon Fire and EMS Chief Dan Mathews said the day of the fire.

Mathews estimated the charred area at about two acres. He said it appeared the fire had broken out behind the cemetery on the Milton side near the property line.

May 10 was a Class 3 day, meaning the fire danger was high, and Mathews said he didn't think any burn permits were issued.

Desautels said penalties for causing a brush fire on a high danger day with no permit in hand is a Class E misdemeanor and could result in a six-month jail term and a $1,000 fine.

"A lot of folks don't realize that," she said.

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