Maine

Wildfire Awareness Week begins in Maine

Published

2 years ago

April 18, 2022

Director of the Maine Forest Service Patty Cormier stated there have been greater than 90 wildfires in Maine to this point in 2022.

MAINE, USA — As the bottom continues to dry and lose its snow cowl, the specter of wildfires in Maine begins. This week marks the start of Wildfire Consciousness Week throughout Maine.

“Stopping wildfires protects our economic system and the environment, safeguards property and the protection of Maine individuals, and preserves our wholesome, productive forests. Everybody can do their half to stop wildfires within the State of Maine,” Governor Janet Mills, D-Maine, stated.

Final week, Mills declared the week of April 17-23 as Wildfire Consciousness Week. In response to Maine State Forester and Director of the Maine Forest Service Patty Cormier, there have already been 90 wilderness in Maine in 2022.

Immediately marks the beginning of #WildfireAwarenessWeek in Maine. The Maine Forest Service director says there have already been 90 wildfires in 2022. I spoke with firefighters from South Portland & Grey in the present day about how one can stop forest fires. Story tonight on @newscentermaine pic.twitter.com/YWlyEqwWG8
— Sean Stackhouse (@StackhouseNCME) April 17, 2022

“Eighty-nine p.c of Maine is forested, and this valuable pure useful resource is ours to guard,” Division of Agriculture, Conservation and Forestry Commissioner Amanda Beal stated in a press release. “Wildfire Consciousness Week is a vital reminder that almost all wildfires in Maine are brought on by individuals and are due to this fact preventable. I invite everybody to extend their consciousness of the methods we will all work to stop wildfires.”

Every day round 9:00 a.m. the Maine Forest Service updates its wildfire hazard report. You’ll be able to view the wildfire hazard in your space right here.

“Anyplace is simply as prone to get a wild land hearth. It is all about staying vigilant ensuring you are caring for your fires, whether or not it is a small campfire or ensuring you extinguish that cigarette correctly,” Grey Firefighter Bryce Neumann stated.

Neumann added you all the time must verify the hearth hazard report earlier than having a hearth in your property, whether or not it is for a brush hearth or only a small campfire.

“This time of yr every part is brown and dry, so that fireplace goes to go proper throughout [the] wooden line, garden, fairly fast. So in the event you can remove all of that vegetation that is flamable, it will actually assist in the weeks to return with wildfires,” South Portland Firefighter Nick Whitmore stated.

Whitmore urgesd everybody to verify they’ve a burn allow earlier than beginning any hearth on their property.

You will get a burn allow via the state, or your native hearth division

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Maine

Three New Bedford men charged in drug-related Maine shooting, authorities say – The Boston Globe

Published

5 hours ago

May 16, 2024

Press Room

Three New Bedford men charged in drug-related Maine shooting, authorities say – The Boston Globe

Three New Bedford men have been arrested in connection to a drug-related drive-by shooting in Saco, Maine, in February that led to an hours-long lockdown of the downtown and area schools, Maine law enforcement officials said Thursday.

Joshua “Mac” Estrada, 19, Yancarlos “Glizzy” Abrante, 20, and Jason “Ouda” Johnson-Rivera, 18, are each charged with conspiracy to distribute and posses with intent to distribute cocaine and perpetrating a drive-by shooting, according to a statement issued by the US Attorney for the District of Maine.

According to a federal indictment handed up Wednesday, the three men allegedly had been trafficking cocaine in and around Saco and Biddeford since at least January 2024, the statement said.

During a drug dispute on Feb. 9, they fired at least five rounds from a 9 mm handgun into another vehicle, according to Darcie N. McElwee, Maine’s US attorney.

“This joint federal and local investigation reflects that if you come to Maine and engage in violence, particularly firearm violence, there will be a swift and coordinated response from every level of law enforcement,” McElwee’s statement said.

The daytime shooting, just before noon in the intersection of North and Elm streets, prompted authorities to issue a shelter-in-place warning and order at least six schools to go on lockdown.

Police said gunshots were exchanged between a red Dodge Charger and a gray Honda HRV before they collided at the intersection. A school bus was involved in the crash but no students were injured.

Four people ran from the scene causing an extensive search by law enforcement, police said. One of the people appeared to have been shot in the arm.

“Brazen violent crime of this magnitude is not something the City of Saco is accustomed to, but when it happens, Maine law enforcement responds,” Chief Jack Clements, of the Saco Police Department, said in the statement.

In the immediate aftermath of the “brazen” shooting and during the “ensuing chaos,” FBI agents with the Southern Maine Gang Task Force hit the ground running, Jodi Cohen, the FBI’s special agent in charge of the Boston division (which includes all of Maine), said in the statement.

“We believe the three Massachusetts men we have in custody conspired with each other to traffic cocaine and were the instigators of this drive-by shooting,” Cohen said. “Violent drug traffickers have a corrosive effect on our communities, and we want everyone to know that the FBI is committed to working with our law enforcement partners to help make Maine safer for the folks who live, work, and visit here.”

Before the indictment, Estrada was arrested May 6 in New Bedford via a criminal complaint. He was arraigned Thursday in federal court in Maine, McElwee said.

Abrante and Johnson-Rivera currently are in custody in Massachusetts on unrelated charges, McElwee said. They will be brought to Maine next week to be arraigned on the new charges, McElwee said.

If convicted as charged, each of the men faces a maximum of 20 years in prison on the drug charge and up to 25 years imprisonment on the shooting charge, McElwee said.

McElwee announced the arrests Thursday at a press briefing outside the Edward T. Gignoux US Courthouse in Portland. She was joined by Clements, fellow prosecutors, FBI and ATF agents, and acting US Marshal Kevin Neal.

Tonya Alanez can be reached at tonya.alanez@globe.com. Follow her @talanez.

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Maine

University of New England senior finds meaningful career in Maine conservation

Published

12 hours ago

May 16, 2024

Press Room

“I’ve taken (a class from) her every single semester since I’ve been an environmental science major,” he said, “and she’s given me some great career advice as well as … a lot of knowledge.”

Woodworth took full advantage of UNE’s field courses to gain the skills needed to succeed in environmental science, said Morgan, adding that she saw him applying what he learned to an internship in urban forestry as well as research in vernal pools and coastal erosion.

“It was great to see Alex’s confidence grow with each class and the hands-on projects he worked on,” she said, “All his hard work has prepared him well for life after graduation.”

Woodworth said his new job with SWCA Environmental Consulting aligns perfectly with his passion for outdoor work and restoration projects.

“I’m really excited to be outside and on the marsh,” he said, explaining that he will be situated in Brooksville, just 40 minutes from Acadia National Park, working on a marsh restoration project aimed at rebuilding and replanting the area that was previously an old mining site.

“I really didn’t want to be inside at a desk job,” he laughs, recalling his childhood summers spent volunteering at an urban farm — which he credits for sparking his interest in natural ecosystems.

“(It was) getting my hands dirty, even if it was just cleaning or pulling weeds or harvesting vegetables, (that) just made me feel a certain way,” he explained. “And I’ve always been chasing that feeling and wanting to keep doing that.”

As Woodworth embarks on this new chapter, he said being at UNE has provided him with invaluable learning experiences that will help shape the work he will do with the environment moving forward.

“UNE has prepared me for my future career by giving me the knowledge I think that I need going into (restoration), as well as giving me a lot of critical thinking skills and teamwork skills to be successful,” he said.

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Maine

Maine High School Baseball and Softball Scores – Wednesday May 15

Published

19 hours ago

May 16, 2024

Press Room

Here are the High School Baseball and Softball Scores for games played and reported throughout the State of Maine on Wednesday, May 15th.

Baseball

Belfast 8 Nokomis 6
Berwick Academy 14 Concord Academy 2
Brunswick 9 Camden Hills 1
Bucksport 17 Sumner 2
Cape Elizabeth 11 Poland 1
Caribou 10 Fort Kent 9
Cony 14 Waterville 0
Edward Little 8 Brewer 4
Erskine Academy 5 Lincoln Academy 2
Fort Fairfield 12 Central Aroostook 1
Fryeburg Academy 6 Freeport 2
Houlton 4 Calais 0
Jonesport-Beals 3 Shead 0
Katahdin 7 Wisdom 5
Katahdin 10 Wisdom 0
Lawrence 4 Oceanside 2
Lewiston 3 Mount Blue 1
Maranacook 10 Boothbay 7
Messalonskee 11 Bangor 0
Monmouth Academy 15 Dirigo 4
Morse 7 Gardiner 6
Mount Ararat 6 Oxford Hills 3
Narraguagus 11 Machias 3
Orono 6 Deer Isle-Stonington 5
Richmond 12 Buckfield 2
Sacopee Valley 10 Lisbon 1
Saint.Dominic 7 Traip 6
Skowhegan 6 Hampden Academy 0
Telstar 11 Spruce Mountain 3
Washburn 13 Madawaska 6
Washington Academy 9 Mount View 7
Wells 6 Lake Region 5
Yarmouth 2 Greely 1
York 15 Gray-New Gloucester 9

Softball

Biddeford 11 Thornton Academy 10
Brewer 3 Edward Little 1
Buckfield 16 Richmond 5
Bucksport 10 Sumner 1
Camden Hills 11 Brunswick 0
Cony 23 Waterville 6
Dirigo 6 Monmouth Academy 5
Freeport 14 Fryeburg Academy 5
Gorham 23 Bonny Eagle 12
Hall-Dale 6 Madison 1
Hodgdon 6 Ashland 2
Houlton 19 Calais 8
Lewiston 11 Mt. Blue 3
Lincoln Academy 8 Erskine Academy 5
Madawaska 24 Washburn 22
Marshwood 12 Massabesic 11
Messalonskee 5 Bangor 2
Morse 8 Gardiner 6
Narraguagus 17 Machias 2
Nokomis 3 Belfast 0
North Yarmouth Academy 13 Old Orchard Beach 0
Oak Hill 13 Mountain Valley 12
Oceanside 7 Lawrence 0
Oxford Hills 13 Mt. Ararat 0
Orono 17 GSA 0
Poland 10 Cape Elizabeth 0
Sacopee Valley 16 Lisbon 6
Scarborough 7 South Portland 5
Skowhegan 8 Hampden Academy 0
Spruce Mountain 13 Telstar 2
Washington Academy 12 Mount View 2
Washington Academy 11 Mount View 5
Wells 20 Lake Region 0
Westbrook 20 Sanford 5
Windham 9 Kennebunk 1

You can vote for the Week 4 High School Athlete of the Week once every 3 hours HERE, now through Thursday, May 16th at 11:59 p.m.

It’s time to nominate someone for the Week 5 High School Athlete of the Week, for performances May 13-18 . Please email your nomination to chris.popper@townsquaremedia.com, letting us know why the individual should be the Athlete of the Week. Please include stats, and make sure you indicate what school this individual attends, and what sport they’re playing! All nominations should be received by Sunday, May 19th. Voting for Week 5 will take place May 19th-23rd with the winner being announced on Friday, May 24th.

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