AUGUSTA — A firewood exchange run by the state prevented some potentially dangerous wood from Massachusetts from reaching Maine’s forests, according to the Maine Forest Service.

Forest service rangers seized a load of wood from Worcester, Mass. – an area known to suffer from heavy infestation of the invasive Asian longhorned beetle. The seizure took place during a two day exchange last week. Forest rangers made 250 contacts with visitors and 27 seizures.

The wood from Worcester was tagged, bagged, dissected and then burned. Its transportation was a breach of the federal quarantine. It did not show signs of the Asian longhorned beetle, which has not yet been found in Maine.

“The result of this effort just points out the seriousness of what we’re up against – that wood is being transported that has the risk of being infested,” Doug Denico, director of the forest service, said in a statement.

The Legislature banned out-of-state firewood last year. Since then the forest service has conducted three exchanges to swap Maine wood for out-of-state firewood.

In addition to the Asian longhorned beetle, the exchange aimed to prevent the spread of the emerald ash borer. The two invasive insects have destroyed millions of acres of trees in other areas.The Asian longhorned beetle was recently discovered in Boston. The emerald ash borer has been found in New York, Pennsylvania, Michigan, Maryland, Quebec and Ontario.