Local forester to serve as director of Maine Forest Service

FARMINGTON – After 20 years of dedication to the Maine woods, primarily served out among the trees, Patty Cormier has been named the new director of the state’s Forest Service in Augusta.

Cormier has spent her entire career learning the best practices of the forests, in her home region of Franklin County, as well as throughout Maine and a handful of states out west. She said her new role will allow her to offer support to other foresters in the state, which will in turn better serve the people of Maine.

“It will be a lot of listening to what the forest means to people, a lot of fact finding and figuring out what I can do to help keep things in balance,” she said.

Twelve years ago Cormier began making summertime trips out west to serve as a forest ranger, wildland firefighting on small teams of 20. She said she hopes to still be able to make those trips, though with her new busy schedule the chances are slim.

“I guess I’m a bit of an adrenaline junky,” she said.

Cormier recalled her first trip to Montana, where her team was flown in and dropped off along the Continental Divide. They were given food and tools for the trip, but everything was wiped out when a wildfire got ahold of the area they were in. Her team had been expecting the fire, but not until later in the day.

“There are certain triggers you look at, like wind, humidity and temperature and they just happened all of a sudden. People told me it would sound like a train and it did. All of a sudden the whole forest was on fire, coming right at us,” she said.

The team was able to make their way to a rocky ledge, where they were able to clear a landing site for the helicopter to get them, but not before watching the entire valley burn below them.

“There were embers falling on us. A few people broke off and ran in a panic. You have to have composure. It’s not for everybody,” she said.

Cormier started her position earlier this week, but she said she still plans to serve locally on the Farmington Fire Department, NorthStar Ambulance and an Advanced EMT service.

“I will continue to work in the community that I love so much,” she said.