HARPSWELL

Area fire departments were kept busy fighting a forest fire on Sheep Island near Cundy’s Harbor over the weekend.

The fire was reported at around 2:30 p.m. Friday by a passing lobsterman who is also a member of the West Bath Fire Department. At around 4:30 p.m. Sunday, Cundy’s Harbor Fire Chief Ben Wallace Jr. said the fire was contained and had been put out for the most part.

However, until the area goes 72 hours without a hot spot flaring up, crews can’t declare the fire out. Crews have stayed on the island overnight since the fire was reported.

Harpswell’s three fire departments responded along with at least seven other departments. Two forest rangers were also on the island and the U.S. Coast Guard responded.

It is always a challenge getting to the outer islands in town and the fire departments rely on the good graces of local lobstermen to get them there, Wallace said.

Crews had to travel by boat with equipment and the major challenge was accessing the island, Wallace said. There are nine structures on the island, he said, and all but one were at some level of danger from the fire.

Firefighters established a perimeter around the fire and kept it from expanding by the time two helicopters with the Maine Forest Service arrived to dump water on the fire from the air.

Camps located on the northwest and northeast sides of the island were in danger because the fire was being driven by a southernly wind, Wallace said.

The fire started in a pile of trees knocked down from the Patriot’s Day storm in April 2007, which were very difficult to move through. It required a lot of work with chain saws once the area was damp enough to approach.

The Maine Forest Service is still working to determine the cause of the fire, Wallace said.

“I don’t know if they’ll have a definitive answer,” he said.

On Sunday afternoon, Wallace was just returning from another forest fire in Harpswell — this one on Orr’s Island. The Maine Forest Service has been busy fighting multiple woods fires and by mid-morning Sunday, the forest rangers left Harpswell to go to their next fire.

“It’s getting dry,” Wallace said. “We’ve got to get the word out to be careful.”