‘Stubborn’ wildfire in Penobscot County turns into full-time response for volunteer firefighters

PORTLAND PRESS HERALD • July 28, 2026

Volunteer firefighters have spent a grueling week extinguishing a roughly 3-acre wildfire along a stream in the Penobscot County town of Bradford. The first of seven days along Mohawk Stream for volunteer firefighters began July 22. “We were kind of thinking, ‘Oh, this could be a minor thing…We’ll put it out, no big deal,'” Bradford Fire Chief Desmond Murray said. They soon realized what they were truly up against. Murray said his firefighters — all volunteers — have worked the scene for about 70 hours over the past week, and “we all have full-time jobs. All these small town fire departments…not one of them got paid the whole time. It takes a lot out of my department. My department is so burnt out after all this.”