DoomsdaysCW#Wildfire in nearby #WaterboroMaine right now. Back in 1947, an unusually dry summer led to devastating fires, with nine towns wiped out!
The Year a State Burned: Maine Fires of 1947 Wipe Out 9 Towns
Warning signs of the #Maine fires appeared as early as March. An abnormally warm spring caused snow to melt early in the woods. Mid-July to October were unusually #dry, with 108 consecutive days without rain.
New England Historical Society, updated in 2024
"An eight-mile-long wall of fire burned in #Kennebunkport. In #NorthWaterboro, nearly 60 residents and volunteers were trapped for more than an hour behind a line of fire before escaping.
"In York County, the fires destroyed most of the homes in #Shapleigh and #Waterboro. then swept toward the sea and consumed swathes of #Alfred, #Lyman, #Newfield, #Kennebunk, Kennebunkport, #Arundel, #Dayton, #Wells, #Biddeford and #Saco [and #Hollis]."
Read more:
https://newenglandhistoricalsociety.com/maine-fires-1947-year-state-burned/
