The year that Maine burned’: 70 years ago ravaging fires left thousands of Mainers homeless

Catastrophic fires swept through the state in October 1947 over the course of several weeks, burning more than 220,000 acres, killing 16 people, leaving thousands homeless, and forever altering some towns. The state had a cold and wet spring that year, but, by mid-July, the weather had completely reversed, according to the forest service.