SEAL HARBOR — The 17-year-old son of former U.S. Sen. George Mitchell accidentally started a wildfire that burned about one acre of woods and fields Sunday on his father’s property in Seal Harbor on Mount Desert Island.
Mount Desert Fire Chief Mike Bender said the teen, whose name was not released because he is a juvenile, was playing with a cigarette lighter when he set a pile of pine needles on fire.
Bender said the fire spread quickly, forcing the teenager to call 911 for help around 5:55 p.m. Sunday. Firefighters from six towns responded and brought the fire under control in about 45 minutes. Mitchell’s summer home wasn’t damaged and his son will not be charged, Bender said.
Mitchell’s property is in Seal Harbor, a village of Mount Desert. The fire came within 75 feet of Mitchell’s home. Though Mitchell and his wife, Heather MacLachlan, are vacationing on Mount Desert Island, they weren’t at home when the fire started, Bender said.
Mitchell’s property is adjacent to land owned by David Rockefeller.
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