Auburn firefighter James Bradley clears hot spots at a wildfire in Turner in April 2020. This week, many fire departments in the state suspended burn permits after the Maine Forest Service announced the fire risk was high across the state. Most of the state is abnormally dry, according to the US Drought Monitor. File Russ Dillingham/Sun Journal

Many fire departments have suspended burn permits this week after the Maine Forest Service said wildfire danger is high across the state.

Most of the state is abnormally dry, according to the US Drought Monitor, and much of the eastern part of the state is in moderate drought. The lack of rainfall, combined with strong wind gusts, fallen leaves and dry grass, increases the risk of fire.

More than a dozen brush fires have been reported across the state in the past two weeks. A house fire spread in the forest for a short time In Winslow on Monday, a downed wire led to a brush fire in St. Albans and more five acres burned in Buckfield over the weekend.

Pittston Fire Chief Josh Johnson was one of many who stopped issuing burn permits when the state forest service moved the fire danger to “high” on Monday. He said this time of year normally causes fire risk to increase and burn permits to be discontinued with dry, dead foliage covering the ground.

“It’s pretty common at this time of year that we don’t issue burn permits for a little bit,” he said.

Fire departments are one of three places Maine residents can get burn permits — both the state and West Gardiner’s Warden’s Report offer burn permit applications online. When the Maine Forest Service moves a region’s fire risk to “High,” the third-highest level of risk, both the state and the Warden’s Report immediately close applications.

Any open burning of brush piles, woody debris and agricultural burns greater than 3 feet wide and high requires a burn permit, and even permits already issued are no longer valid once the fire risk is high.

Tuesday’s wildfire danger was downgraded to “moderate,” allowing burn permits to go back into effect and for the state to begin issuing new burn permits. Maine Forest Service update the rating every morning before 9 o’clock

When risk levels rise, Johnson said, fire departments prepare for the possibility of brush fires and respond anyway to residents who would burn foliage.

“There’s always a handful of the community that don’t realize the state requires permits for any outdoor burning,” Johnson said.

Dead foliage can easily catch fire – without water to burn, all the plant’s heating energy can be used to fuel the fire. Generally, according to the National Weather Service, small leaf moisture levels below 30% are considered dead and will respond solely to the environmental conditions around them. The Maine Forest Service measured moisture levels between 12 percent and 20 percent in the Augusta foliage Tuesday morning.

Usually, Johnson said, permits are available again once the area receives significant rain or snow. According to the latest forecast, the National Weather Service in Gray is predicting rain from about 8:00 p.m. Tuesday through 1:00 p.m. Wednesday of about 0.2 to 0.4 inches — a small dip in the precipitation deficit of about 2.7 inches in central Maine, compared to an October average.

While forecasts for the next eight to 14 days show above-normal temperatures and precipitation at or near normal levels, the National Weather Service in Gray posted on Facebook late last week that the area experiencing drought is likely to increase without high rainfall.

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