{"id":248498,"date":"2025-10-24T12:13:12","date_gmt":"2025-10-24T12:13:12","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/248498\/"},"modified":"2025-10-24T12:13:12","modified_gmt":"2025-10-24T12:13:12","slug":"u-s-drought-monitor-extreme-drought-hits-seven-counties","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/248498\/","title":{"rendered":"U.S. Drought Monitor: ‘Extreme’ drought hits seven counties"},"content":{"rendered":"

Maine is facing worsening drought conditions, with more than 80% of the state in severe or extreme drought, leading to reports of dry wells and more wildfires.<\/p>\n

MAINE, USA \u2014 Drought conditions across Maine have worsened, with seven counties experiencing “extreme” drought, according to a U.S. Drought Monitor<\/a> report on Thursday.<\/p>\n

Over 80% of Maine is experiencing “severe” or “extreme” drought, compared to the reported 70% just last week.<\/p>\n

RELATED: U.S. Drought Monitor: ‘Extreme’ drought spreading in Maine, battle with historic dry spell continues<\/a><\/p>\n

Counties experiencing “moderate” drought<\/p>\n

Counties in “severe” drought<\/p>\n

Aroostook\u00a0PiscataquisPenobscotSomersetYorkCumberlandSagadahocLincolnKnoxAndroscogginKennebec <\/p>\n

Counties experiencing “extreme” drought<\/p>\n

WashingtonHancockWaldoPenobscotSomersetFranklinOxford <\/p>\n

According to the Maine Emergency Management Agency (MEMA)<\/a>, widespread reports show that hundreds of residential wells have run dry, while stream and river levels have plunged to historic lows. Farms across Maine<\/a> report sharply reduced yields in potatoes, blueberries, and other key crops.<\/p>\n

MEMA director Pete Rogers called this past summer “one of the driest summers Maine has ever recorded,” adding, “Several streams and rivers are at record lows, farms are feeling significant impacts, and hundreds of households have reported dry wells.” The Maine Drought Task Force convened on Oct. 2<\/a> to coordinate responses.<\/p>\n


\n \"\"<\/p>\n

The Maine Drought Task Force reported that 457 wells have gone dry across Maine in 2025\u2014the majority in Oxford, Cumberland, Androscoggin, Franklin, Kennebec, Somerset, and York counties.<\/a><\/p>\n

In response, state agencies are urging residents to:<\/p>\n

Conserve water wherever possible<\/p>\n

Repair leaks and avoid water waste<\/p>\n

Heed local burn bans<\/p>\n

Report dry wells via MEMA\u2019s<\/a> online survey to help assess statewide water supply stress\u00a0<\/p>\n

Meanwhile, the Department of Agriculture, Conservation and Forestry has allocated grants for water infrastructure\u00a0<\/a>projects like drilled wells, storage ponds, and water-management planning to support farmers navigating the shortages.<\/p>\n

The drought\u2019s economic and ecological toll is mounting. Farmers report poor hay yields and stunted crops, while foresters warn of heightened wildfire risk. The Maine Forest Service has responded to above-average fire activity this fall as parched ground and dry vegetation persist.<\/p>\n


\nNumber of Maine wildfires by year <\/p>\n


\n \"\"<\/p>\n

The record-high number of wildfires in 2020 was attributed to drought conditions and more people staying home during the COVID-19 pandemic, with many \u201cutilizing wildland fire to work around the home,\u201d according to the Maine Drought Task Force. As shown in the chart, 2025 has seen the most wildfires since that record year.<\/p>\n

For daily updates of wildfire risk, check the Maine Forest Service, Wildfire Danger Report.<\/a><\/p>\n

For more local stories continue with us on our NEWS CENTER Maine+ streaming app.\u00a0<\/a><\/p>\n


\nDon’t miss these NEWS CENTER Maine stories <\/p>\n<\/p>\n

For the latest breaking news, weather, and traffic alerts, download the NEWS CENTER Maine mobile app.<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Maine is facing worsening drought conditions, with more than 80% of the state in severe or extreme drought,…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":248499,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[47],"tags":[192,79],"class_list":{"0":"post-248498","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-environment","8":"tag-environment","9":"tag-science"},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/248498","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=248498"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/248498\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/248499"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=248498"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=248498"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=248498"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}