Firefighters tamp out smoldering soil at Clifford Park ground fire

BIDDEFORD — Firefighters Monday morning worked to put out a ground fire that spread through a half acre in Clifford Park.

Around 9:45 a.m., firefighters received a call from someone walking the trails in the park regarding a fire in the woods, said Deputy Fire Chief Kevin Duross. The caller met with crews in the parking lot to direct them to the area where they found an area of the ground was smoldering.

Firefighters from Biddeford and Saco went into the woods with off-road vehicles – UTVs and brush trucks – to get to the site of the fire and shuttle water to the location.

 

Firefighters shuttle water into the woods in Clifford Park in Biddeford on Monday morning. LIZ GOTTHELF/Saco Bay News

Duross said firefighters were on scene for a few hours. The fire had spread fairly deep into the subsurface of the ground, and firefighters had to dig 8  to 12 inches to get out hotspots, he said.

No one was injured in the fire, said Duross. He said the fire was not considered suspicious. He noted there have been issues with camp fires in the park, which are not allowed under the park’s rules.

Clifford Park is a 140 acre public park at 130 Pool St. The park features tennis courts, playground, mini-skate park, picnic areas and a network of hiking trails.

Last week the organization Friends of Clifford Park posted on social media of “some unwelcome and harmful activity” in Clifford Park. Members of the group found what appeared to be spray paint on the ground near a water fall and a story board along a trail had been damaged.

Publisher Liz Gotthelf can be reached at [email protected].