On October 23, 1947 thousands of Mainers woke to a beautiful fall day. And none of them could be aware of the impending
natural disaster that was about to change their lives forever.
From October 14 to the 27 more than 200 forest fires raged throughtout Maine
consuming nearly a quarter million acres of forest, and in some cases, wiping out
entire towns. York, Oxford and Hancock Counties were especially hard-hit.
Several others throughout Maine were threatened. In many cases, fierce winds, gusting up to 80 miles an hour
drove these fires so rapidly that hundreds of homeowners escaped the massive flame
fronts with only the clothes they were wearing.
Generations of heirlooms and other prized possessions were lost forever.
In 1947, fire officials on both the local and state levels had little ability to
communicate with each other, complicating the situation, and no one was prepared for
a disaster of this magnitude. Drought conditions existed, as little or no rain fell
during the three months leading into October. The weather for the entire forest fire season
was unusual, going from one extreme to another. In early March, an abnormally warm
period saw tempuratures reaching into the high eighties, causing snow to melt quickly
and disappear from fields and woods at about the same time.
To those engaged in forest fire control, this was an ominous sign. However, the
months of April through June were cold and wet. By mid- July, a complete reversal
of weather and ground conditions took place, and continued well into fall.
During that period, 108 days passed without any appreciable rain. The dryness of the soil
was reflected in the foliage ,especially with hardwoods, lack of moisture caused the leaves to dry and fall early.
Vegetation was bone dry and Maine was ripe for burning. On October 23 all hell broke loose.
Barbara Tyner - Someone called and said "you've got to get out" and we jumped into a Model A
Ford of my cousin's and headed for Route 113 and got caught in the fire.
The fire had crossed the road and we were debating what to do and turned around. It was in back of us.
And I remember my cousin, he said"this old baby'll go anywhere". so he backed it up and turned it around.
and we went back around the mountain.
In Brownfield alone, 200 homes and businesses were destroyed. The community was gone.
Sadly enough, Brownfield was not the exception. Many small towns were gutted.
Carolyn Jackson- It was a very hot day. And knowing the fire was in progress, I was helping
my mother make corn chowder to take to the fire line that evening.
And at noon, they came and picked it up. Told us that,no problems, we would be safe,
because it could never cross Shepherd's River. Well, then by mid-afternoon, they came
through and told us we had 20 minutes. We were totally unprepared.
The town of Newfield suffered too. In the Goose Rocks and Cape Porpoise district of kennebunkport, more than
more than 200 homes, most of them summer cottages, were destroyed, as this fire burned its way
to the Atlantic Ocean. In Hancock County, Bar Harbor with its palatial summer homes and grand hotels, all sustained
massive damage. Half of the landscape of this world famous summer retreat was blackened.
Howell Burns- There was a lot of leaves around. This was the middle of October.
And sparks were landing all around, but we were doing pretty good job putting them
out, underneath the porches, and things like that. And I happened to look up,
on top of the roof, this Marvern Hotel,which was huge and the Belmont was right next door to it.
And there was a little patch of fire, about so big right by the chimney. It was gone. Just that quick.
In Washington County, residents in the towns of Jonesboro, Machias and surrounding
communities had to be evacuated. more than 20 thousand acres of timber and wildlands were
burned. In a one hour period on October 23 the fire traveled more than six miles.
John Smith - I was up in North Waterboro when it went across the road and burnt the
boardyard. You've seen how boards are stacked, you know. And that fire would hit them
And it was almost like they would explode. That would take boards 12 inch boards, 10 or 12 feet long right into the air.
all a fire. you know, there was such a current from that. And I was scared seeing
something like that. If you laid on the track and a train went over you it wouldn't
make any more noise.
In one week 15 fires each burned at least 5000 acres. In many cases families had only
a few minutes to gather their belongings before leaving their homes for safer ground.
Doris Rowe - And Mary said "Doris,what do you want me to save?" and I said "Well I like
my piano but I know you can't save it.""Oh yes,"she said"we can put it in the dump
truck". so it was on casters, and they wheeled it out and put it on the truck.
The last time I saw Brownfield when we got to the Ricker place I looked back and Brownfield
was all ablaze.
Frank Hopkins - The wind was blowing almost like a hurricane. and of course it was blowing
all this fire on ahead of it which was consequently starting more fires.A hopeless situation.
On the evening of October 23 Governor Horace Hildreth declared a State of Emergency.
In a broadcast to the people of Maine he requested all citizens give whatever help they could
to the forestry department.The President of the United States at the request of the Governor
and the Maine Congressional Delegation also declared a State of Emergency.
The President's action immediately made available war assets equipment and tools
from the office of civil defense for all the fire areas. The forestry department asked for
help from both the Army and Navy and got it. Soldiers provided much-needed equipment and
additional manpower to help weary volunteer firefighters battle the fires.
By month's end nearly 36 Maine towns had sustained heavy losses. 9 were practically
leveled with property damage totalling nearly 70 million dollars. Timber losses were
estimated at 10 million dollars. In today's terms, these losses would equal well over 3 billion
dollars. Hundreds of Mainers lost their jobs, as many businesses were also destroyed.
16 people lost their lives.
Henry W. Brown - People just couldn't believe the devastion. It humbled everybody.
And that's why for years later and I even think today there are enough of us alive that
when we a fire, you've got to it. Tha's all.
When the last flames were contained, more than 2500 people were left homeless.
John Smith - You can't believe the noise. And I been overseas, and I think I was as scared
during the fire as at any time over there. You just figured that you weren't going to get
out of it. You just figure that nothing was going to put this fire out. You kind of began to
get the feeling that the whole state was going to burn. There wasn't much that stopped
it until it got to the ocean.
Frank Laskey - I remember down behind our house there, when it came up behind the fields
there, the fire probably was a quarter of a mile. And up behind our house, there's a field there
probably eight acres in it. Grass was this tall, and I'd take my John Deere tractor
I took a plow and I plowed a lot of furrows around but it didn't amount to nothin'.
the field burst into flame just like you'd put a hundred gallons of gasoline on it and threw fire
in it. You'd have to see it to believe it. I mean, Just exploding all over.
Throughout those two imfamous weeks, hurricane force winds caused havoc for firefighters
making control efforts extremely dangerous and often impossible.
Howell Burns - You could hear it coming. It was just like a ... the sound. I can't describe it
Just very loud. Just a roar. and we saw this sheet of flame roll just like this. Made one
roll, just like you see water on the beach. And the house was gone. It exploded. And we turned
to run because it was not a good place to be and the hoses were steaming.
Firefighters frequently had to drop their equipment and run from flame fronts reaching as
high as 300 feet. The intense and erratic fire was unlike anything firefighters had seen before.
Howell Burns - It was blowing. It was a funny feeling. The embers, the smoke.
You would hear roaring, just like a freight train roaring, and then complete silence.
Nothing. And it was eerie. And then it would start again.
Relief finally came for thousands of weary firefighters on November 8 when rains fell over much of the state.
Several days afterwards after I'd gone back to work I drove through Eagle Lake Road out to the head of Somes Sound
And that was really just flat. And I can remember saying, "I think the rocks burned. Every- thing was black and bare.
Throughout the ordeal, Mainers pitched in, neighbor helping neighbor.
Everybody helped everbody else. There was never anyplace anywhere that had more people
working together than there were here in town. It was wonderful really.
The Red Cross and Civil Defense helped feed and temporarily house the homeless. Hundreds of
steel building were brought in by the military to serve as homes, schools and churchs
some of which are still in use today. Never in Maine's history had so many people been affected
by such a disaster, and never had so many people come to the aid of their fellow citizens.
Carolyn Jackson - You were speechless. There was nothing anywhere. And to get to the highway was something else.
The trees were burned. The limbs were down. It was an unmistakable mystery.
But everybody else was in the same boat. Everybody pitched together. You were no worse off than your neighbor.
and everybody was just together.
It takes something like this to find out how much you appreciate your neighbors and relatives
and everything. That was good.
When the smoke settled, the damage was not unlike that of a massive bombing raid seen during
World War Two.
Charles Harmon - Just something that nobody ever believed could possibly happen to them.
and it's like I'm sure happened in the war when you're in Europe or something like that and
you're living in your little town and the first thing you know it's all bombed out.
And so, what do you feel like then? What do you feel like now? It's the samething that we had here. See?
At times you didn't know whose home it was. I mean there were so many gone.You did not know where you were.
I remember so well the feeling. So empty. So sick to my stomach, so scared.
And my folks were just devasted.
As I remember driving through town all you could see was cellar holes and chimneys.
the chimneyys were still standing and there was still smoldering and there was
steel roofing which was basically what most every house had was steel roofing.
Of course that survived and that was all rubble and mess. Quite devastating.
And something you don't forget right off. It kind of burns in your memory.
Investigations into the causes of these fires revealed several sources ranging from careless
backyard debris burning to unattended campfires and all to often many of these fires
believed to be arson.
The 1947 fires in Maine are considered Maine's worst natural disaster.
They're the result of the perfect storm of enviromental conditions.
Over three months of drought combined with a buildup of forest fuels and brush followed
by dry hurricane force winds.
Since that catastrophic event many improvements have been made in how we fight wildfires.
Most importantly, we cooperate better with other agencies.
There are mutual aid agreements in place between towns, states,
Canada, as well as Federal agencies.
Secondly, we are better trained and have learned how to manage our risks to make sure all the
firefighters return home after a fire.
We have also studied how these fires spread and strive to teach homeowners how they can
reduce the chance of their homes igniting from airborne sparks and embers.
The type of firefighting equipment available to Maine's forest rangers today
is much better for fighting wildfires.
The overall strategy for fighting wildfires has also changed.
Rather than chasing wildfires, we now often use indirect control lines
and point protection, where firefighters are pre-positioned at structures
before the fire arrives.
Two Way Radio - What do you have for a water source?
Forest Ranger - They've got a good water source further up the road a quarter mile on the left.
We are also using the latest technology to improve communications on wildfires.
Forest Ranger - Affirmative, and just be aware that the helicopters inbound
about 30 minutes out.
The 1947 fires in Maine had a major impact on open burning laws
and wildfire prevention programs in the State of Maine
While firefighting equipment, tactics and organization have improved greatly since 1947,
over 90 percent of all wildfires are still human caused.
We all need to learn from hard lessons from the past and be careful with all outdoor fires.
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