BANGOR DAILY NEWS • September 18, 2025
The National Weather Service has issued a fire watch across the state due to ongoing drought conditions. The warning comes hand-in-hand with a freeze watch that has been issued for roughly half of the state. Thursday morning’s update from the U.S. Drought Monitor painted a bleak picture of the ongoing drought conditions across Maine, which has seen very little rainfall over the past few months. Just over 5.5% of the state is experiencing extreme drought. The fire watch issued by the NWS stretches across the majority of the state, with elevated risks focused through all of northern and eastern Maine. With low humidity and windy conditions, fires can start and spread quickly. The freeze watch issued for late Friday through Saturday morning encompasses regions of northwestern Aroostook County, northern Somerset, Piscataquis, Oxford and Franklin counties and central Somerset County.