Fire in the Forests of Maine and New Hampshire

Abstract

Modern fire records for Maine and New Hampshire and other historical evidence were investigated to infer the occurrence and distribution of fire in pre-settlement time. Between the decades of 1910-1920 and 1960-1970 fire incidence increased and average fire size decreased sharply, with the net effect being a several-fold diminution of land burned per year. Fire was unequally distributed among forest types. Pine-dominated forests in the south-coastal part of the states were burned most frequently, with northern hardwood forests in central portions intermediate and spruce-fir forests least influenced by fire. The spruce-fir type in northern New England appears to be an exception to the generalization that coniferous forests burn more readily than hardwoods. Historical evidence suggests that in pre-Columbian time a significant potential for fire ignition existed in association with lightning and the incendiary activities of Native Americans. Because human control of fire size was lacking, the extent of prehistoric fires may have equalled that in the early 20th century.