Staff Writer

Visitors to local wildlife refuges last week may have caught a display of pyrotechnics used as a form of spring cleaning.

During the week of April 13, a series of controlled burns were conducted on Rachel Carson National Wildlife Refuge property in Kittery, Wells, Kennebunk and Kennebunkport. In most cases, fire is a destructive force, but in the case of a prescribed burn it is necessary for vegetation management, restoration of nutrients to the soil and biological research, reserve officials said.

“Research indicates that controlled burning has many benefits over other habitat management practices. Fire helps control undesirable exotic plants, promotes wildflowers and other native plants, reduces the accumulation of organic debris and releases nutrients back into the soil,” Refuge Manager Ward Feurt said. 

Fire Management Specialist John Meister conducts controlled burns in wildlife refuges throughout New England. He said it is called a “prescribed burn,” because they follow a detailed plan booklet nearly one inch thick with determinations based on wind speed, relative humidity, soil moisture and fuel conditions.

Burning eight acres of field on the Wells Reserve at Laudholm last Friday, Meister said he was concerned about a red flag warning issued at noon for the rest of the day. He said with the weather service forecasting 20 mile-per-hour winds – equal to about 8 miles per hour at waist level – and a drop in relative humidity, he wanted the burn to be complete before noon. 

“With a drop in humidity, it’s drier and [fire is] more likely to spread rapidly,” Meister said, adding  firemen track changes in the weather and alert each other to shifts in wind direction.

Working with nine firemen from Wells Fire Department, Meister directed the crew from the far end of the field, starting downwind and working across the lot to be burned. As they ignited the field, a fire engine drove along the furthest edge as firemen sprayed water on the ground in front of it. Meister said the truck’s pump pushed the water deeply in the ground laying a line that the fire would not cross. Behind the truck, other firemen worked with a torch to start lighting the dry thatch of grass on the top layer. 

“Any burn removes that thatch layer. It instantly catches fire. Removing that thatch layer increases the safety and recycles nutrients into the soil immediately,” Meister said, estimating the field would be green within a week after the burn.

Meister said certain plant species require regular burnings to thrive, including the northern blazing star, an endangered flowering plant with purple buds and spiky petals, two of which are located in the area burned Friday, marked by little blue flags. 

“They’re a fire dependent species. The fire is needed to heat the seed so it cracks open and sprouts,” Meister said. 

It took the team less than two hours to complete the burn, finishing before winds picked up and relative humidity dropped, but not before attracting curious spectators. As people visiting the reserve walked past the field toward various trails, they stopped to watch as the line of fire rolled down the hill and smoke billowed into the sky, temporarily shading the sun.

Once the fire had covered its course, firemen stayed to make sure it was fully extinguished and the once dry hayfield was scorched black. 

Staff writer Emma Bouthillette can be reached at 282-4337 ext. 237.