Caitlin Fleming of Portland watches a prescribed burn on Richmond Island from Kettle Cove State Park in Cape Elizabeth. The burn brought a lot of smoke to the mainland Friday afternoon. Ben McCanna/Staff Photographer
Wind spread heavy smoke from a controlled burn on Richmond Island throughout South Portland and Scarborough on Friday.
Thick plumes of smoke could be seen from Crescent Beach on Friday afternoon, and a smoky haze spread across nearby towns. Westbrook police posted on Facebook that their dispatch center had received “hundreds of calls” about the smoke.
In South Portland, the fire department responded to multiple calls about smoke, but no other fires were found, according to a department spokesperson. In Scarborough, officials sent an alert to residents about the smoke, saying it was from a controlled burn.
Jim Britt, a spokesman for the Maine Department of Agriculture, Conservation and Forestry, said the burn was on about 50 of the island’s 226 acres and conducted primarily for firefighter training.
Britt said the fire was under control the entire time and that a helicopter was called in to drop water and put out the fire after a wind shift blew the smoke over land.
A helicopter prepares to douse a prescribed burn on Richmond Island off of Kettle Cove State Park on Friday. The burn on Richmond Island brought a lot of smoke to the mainland Friday afternoon. Ben McCanna/Staff Photographer
Richmond Island is a privately owned island off the coast of Cape Elizabeth.
Cape Elizabeth fire officials say another controlled burn is planned for Saturday in a field on Breakwater Farm Road.
Staff Writer Edward D. Murphy contributed to this report.
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