<p>Dry conditions and carelessness with fire has fueled a spate of wildfires this spring across parts of New England, and officials urged caution at cookouts and campsites this holiday weekend.</p>
<p>Going into the weekend, the Maine Forest Service had responded to nearly 430 wildfires, a concerning number. </p>
<p>Forest rangers urged campers make sure their campfire is fully extinguished before leaving it. They also urged people to obey open burning laws and to obtain a permit before burning brush. </p>
<p>Property owners burning brush sparked a forest fire in Killington, Vermont earlier this month. Firefighters fought the fire for a number of days in steep and difficult terrain. Also this month a brush fire spread across nearly 1,000 acres (405 hectares) in western Massachusetts and state officials said it was the state’s largest wildland fire in more than two decades.</p>
<p>Dry conditions are contributing to fires and persisting. And scattered showers this weekend won’t alter that, officials said.</p>
<p>The drought monitor released on Thursday showed most of Maine is “abnormally dry" while most of New Hampshire and Vermont are abnormally dry or in a moderate drought.</p>
<p>The region is coming off several months of dry weather. </p>
<p>Portland, Maine, was about 4.8 inches below normal and Concord, New Hampshire, about 4.3 inches below normal in March 1, said Derek Schroeter, meteorologist from the National Weather Service.</p>
<p>Vegetation has begun to turn green and that will help to reduce the fire hazard as spring progresses.</p>