Fire at Mt. A

[PutAwayWet]

Just thought I'd let everyone know that there was a fairly major (according to the police guy I talked to) forest fire at Mt. A last night. Apparently lightning struck 3rd hill and torched it. I haven't seen it first hand (he asked me not to ride out there due to some hot spots they were still trying to put out) but I guess much of the top of the hill is toasted. On a positive note, he said the trail was basically the only part of the hill that withstood the fire. Take that tree humping frog kissers! ;) Maybe we can convince the LM that if we were allowed to build more trails, there'd be less fire danger?

[Mt.A TODD]

Top North West Side of Thrid Hill. Those smoke spots are on the climb up. I don't think it's that bad, trail should be fine...minus the atv and truck damage, doh... I'll check it out tonite.We avoided the area yesterday and rode the reservoir side because the fire fighters were still up there looking for hot spots, but I’m pretty sure it’s all over now.
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YORK, Maine — Smoke billowing from the woods was easy to see from the top of Mount Agamenticus Friday afternoon, but the fire contributing to the smoke proved hard to locate.

Firefighters from York Beach and York Village spent over two hours trying to find the fire in the middle of acres of woods near the mountain.

The fire was ultimately located by Robin Stanley, Mount A conservation coordinator, and Parker Schuerman and John Bailey, of the Nature Conservancy, who are intimately familiar with the trail system in the area.

Using ATVs, York Beach and York Village firefighters trekked miles into the woods through rough terrain, largely seen only by hikers and bikers, to access the four-acre area on top of "Third Hill."

A path of unburned pine needles and rocks cut through the center of blackened and smoking ground as flames rose from the ground, tree stumps and branches sporadically throughout the area.

Schuerman said it is likely lightening sparked the blaze and strong winds sent sparks flying around the area. When he arrived on the scene, flames six to 12 inches could be seen.

Schuerman and Bailey believe they identified the tree which lightening struck.

Strapping heavy metal packs full of water to their backs and using special tools, they did their best to douse hot spots and cut down trees and stumps that were burning.

The fire had largely been contained by the time firefighters arrived but because of remaining hot spots they believed they would have to return Saturday.

Stanley said damage was limited because it was limited to the undergrowth, and being on a bed of rock meant it didn't go deep into the ground. York Beach Fire Captain Gary Woods agreed.

"There are very light fuels out here, pine needles and oak litter — not a highly volatile system," Schuerman added.

Schuerman noted that burns like this can be good for certain natural communities, and can help prevent larger fires.

"This is going to provide a lot of opportunities for spring ephemeral and other wildflowers that like disturbed areas," Schuerman said. "This is actually a great thing to have happen in this system.

To add to the excitement, there was a bear sighting in the area as firefighters worked.

[Mt.A TODD]

Well after helping search for a missing 13 year old on a mtb who got lost tonight looking for the fire damage. I can report that the fire was not so bad. The classic climb to the top of Third Hill coming from the quarry has been re- widened by the heavy ATV traffic, oh well. On the bad side of things, the trail is much smoother and many of the babyheads have been removed, the trail is notably wider and bermie.The fire damage started shortly after the peak and continued down and over the ledges on the backside of third, but ended on the first slick rock section where it gets tight again in the woods. It wasn't a huge area and it didn't look that bad. On the good side of things, the trail is much smoother and many of the babyheads have been removed, the trail is notably wider and bermie. The firefighters did do allot of good hard work in the woods on the sides, cut a few trees and raked up a lot of ground and roots, parts of the top look different, but not really. The trail definitely worked like a fireline in spots. Since the fire did not seem to travel that far down the mountain, I back tracked and took that little "scenic vista" ledge trail singletrack which parallels back, the fire damage above did not affect that trail more than just the beginning, nor did the firefighter's ATVs use it. All in all not a big deal.

...and I have no idea if they found the missing kid, assuming they found him cause the cops were gone and it was dark.

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