Hudson, Maine Fire Officials Warn Folks To Steer Clear Of ‘Eagle Island’ After Huge Fire Damaged Trees

It was just after midnight, Friday into Saturday morning (August 1st to the 2nd) when Kerri Rossignol, her husband, Jason Rossignol, and her sister, Cassandra Tuck, were driving their boat home from the Glenburn side of Pushaw Lake to the Hudson side, after spending the evening with some friends.

"We'd left Mike's house and come around the corner. There are the Twin Islands there, and there's kind of a point that juts out as you're heading North on the lake. And as we came around that point, I just saw a big blazing something in the distance that looked much bigger than a campfire."

Rossignol says that first, her husband didn't think it was anything of real concern. But Kerri, who drives that part of the lake all the time at night on her boat, says she knew there was something wrong.

"It's always dark. It's always black. Nothing should be lit up as bright as that."

Rossignol said her alert was up, especially since just the weekend before, while she was with a group of friends down on Birch Beech on the south side of Pushaw, they saw smoke coming from another island nearby called Hardwood Island. That day, her friend went out to investigate on his jet ski and found a group of younger kids attempting to cook on an old grill on the island, using lighter fluid. The fire got out of control, and she said her friend ended up running back to his jet ski to grab a fire extinguisher to help the kids put it out.

That night, she thought the light she was seeing might be coming from land (which her friends owned) behind the island. But the group continued to get closer to home, and she realized the fire was coming from what all the locals call "Eagle Island."

"We call it Eagle Island because it has a huge eagle's nest on it. I think it's actually called Squirrel Island or something, but we all know it as Eagle Island because of the big eagle's nests and stuff."

For almost three decades, Squirrel Island, or 'Eagle Island' as it's referred to by most locals, has been a popular place on Pushaw Lake for folks to paddle around due to an enormous eagle's nest sitting up on top of one of the tallest trees on the island. On any given day, you could see the big birds with their young, perched either in the nest or on branches surrounding it.

Rossignol says she believes that, as of this past winter, the nest had disappeared. She's not sure what happened to it, but says she's not seen it in the trees this season, although she has still seen eagles sitting in the trees in recent months.

Read More: Inside Maine's Battle Against Summer Wildfires And Their Causes

Knowing there was wildlife on the island and fearing someone might be stuck on there, the group called to report the fire and then headed towards the island to see if anyone needed help.

"As we continued closer to it, we actually went right up to the island, as we were talking to the dispatcher, my husband was yelling in, just to see if anyone would respond, because the whole island was on fire. The weird thing was that it was IN the island. It wasn't like the outside of the island was burning. That was still green, you know, still looked alive. But from the tip to the back of it, in the middle, though, was on fire."

After spending about 20 minutes yelling from their boat to anyone who might have been trying to escape the flames, and even making their way around the island to double-check, the group never got a response.

Rossignol drove the boat home, dropping off her husband and sister, but returned to the water near the island in case someone did need help. She was there to witness the incredible effort local firefighters made as they tried for hours and hours to extinguish the blaze.

She saw the first fire boat arrive and stage a huge spotlight to help guide the other crews on the island.

The next morning, Rossignol and her husband went back out on the water to see what had happened. They were amazed to see that the island looked untouched, from the water, despite hearing the crews within the trees, still working hard to keep the fire under control.

"We were just so amazed. They still had the pumps going at 9 AM, but the island looks just...you wouldn't be able to tell there was a fire on it and that it was that crazy."

Hudson Fire Chief Joshua Lilley says looks can be deceiving in those situations, because there was definitely a fire, and that fire left the island a dangerous place.

He says firefighters did find evidence that someone had burned a small fire in a fire pit.

"We think that maybe somebody had been out there and had a small campfire. We found the remains of an old fire pit. There was so much damage that the likelihood of ever figuring out exactly what it was is probably never going to happen, unless someone came forward and said 'I did this' or whatever."

"There was one small structure. We don't even know if it was a camp or an ice shack or what it looked like before; we just know we found the remains of one very small building."

"We were there initially for about 12 hours. It came in around midnight, and we didn't leave until the following afternoon. And then we went out several days in a row to deal with hotspots. The fire was officially declared 'out' on Wednesday."

He says the fire had burned right down into the ground, which made it difficult to get to all the different hotspots, a common occurrence with a lot of wildland fires.

"We did have one firefighter who did have very minor injuries and was treated on scene."

Hudson Firefighters, along with fire crews from Bradford Fire & Rescue, Glenburn Fire Department, Maine Forest Rangers, The City of Old Town Fire Rescue, and G&H Ambulance Service Inc., helped in the effort to keep the fire under control.

"It was pretty much the entire island. There are some tiny portions of it that weren't affected, but as a whole, it's the whole island."

"There are lots and lots of trees that have partially burned off, so there's a ton of falling hazards out there, as far as trees falling on people. I'm guessing that we get a big windstorm or thunderstorm, and it's going to completely change the look of that island. There's gonna be a lot of trees that topple over. If they're right up close to shore, they could absolutely get hit by a falling tree."

The island has been privately owned for decades. The recent owners have had it since the late 1950s. It was passed down from father to son in the 90s.

They had constructed a small cabin on the property years ago.

Both Chief Lilley and Rossignol said someone had recently built a pallet dock on one section of the island. The owner did not know who might have done that, as they live out of state at the moment, and had not been to visit yet this year.

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There is another island, nearby, nicknamed "Treasure Island," which is a popular paddling destination for folks with kids due to a little treasure chest the owners put there from which children can open and take little trinkets.

"And right off the shore is a geocache, which is another very popular spot, and that's really close to the shore of that, too, depending on how people get there."

Chief Lilley says the island is privately owned and has been in the same family for years. At one point, many years back, a small A-frame was constructed by the current owner's father. The owner does not live locally anymore. It said he is aware that the fire occurred and will be coming into town to survey the damage soon.

Rossignol says she knows that had the fire not been spotted and reported, and had the firefighters not done such an exceptional job getting out there that night, the island might have been a total loss.

"I just want to praise those firefighters and thank them so much for their response and the good job that they did."

The owner of the island was on scene this past weekend to survey the damage and put up signs and tape to keep folks away. He says he will be back in the near future with a crew to remove the trees that are falling hazards. He says the cabin his father build was completely destroyed in the fire.

Summertime on Pushaw Lake is a busy time. And there are a lot of folks who enjoy the water and the many surrounding islands. The fire danger level in Penobscot County is currently high. Be vigilant for any signs of fire, and make sure to report anything you think looks suspicious.