Wells, Maine, USA
1947 - Wells devastated by the Great Fires of 1947

After a wet spring, in which the months of April, May and June were inundated with rainy weather, the climate turned to drought condition in mid July 1947. By the end of September, the ground was extremely dry...

Reports of small fires in woods began coming into the Forest Service on October 7. These early fires burned in Portland, Bowdoin and Wells. Being 30 miles (48 km) apart from each other, these three fires illustrated the danger. After this, reports of fires poured in, and by October 16, 20 separate fires were burning in the state...

Fires began in the towns of Shapleigh and Waterboro, destroying both communities, including,with only a few exceptions,most homes. The fires swept through the forests, and moved with the wind toward the ocean. In addition to Waterboro and Shapleigh, the towns of Alfred, Lyman, Newfield, Kennebunk, Kennebunkport, North Kennebunkport (now Arundel), Dayton, Wells, and the cities of Biddeford and Saco were devastated by fire. With the exception of Shapleigh and Waterboro, most town centers were saved through the tireless work of firefighters, most notably Goodwins Mills in the eastern corner of Lyman, where due in part to a change in wind direction, only the center was saved, and all of the acreage around it burned to the ground.

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