MONROE (AP) – A fire has leveled Forest Hart’s hilltop home, studio and gallery, but the wildlife sculptor and his wife say they remain optimistic and look forward to rebuilding.

“All I’ve got is what I’m wearing, a pencil, a comb and a jackknife – and you know, I feel pretty good,” said Hart, who sifted through ashes Tuesday in search of drawings and notes he used to sculpt his bronze figures.

Hart has pieces at the Farnsworth Art Museum in Rockland and at the University of Maine. A large moose he sculpted is displayed at the Moosehead Beer brewery in Saint John, New Brunswick.

Hart and his wife Susan returned after an hourlong trip to Belfast late Monday to find everything in flames. They were living temporarily in a travel camper provided by a friend.

“We’re grateful we have our lives and our friends and neighbors,” said Susan Hart. “Last night, as they were working the fire, we were already planning what we’d do differently, the changes we’d make.”

Monroe Fire Chief Keith Nealley said 30 mph winds fanned the flames. More than 50 firefighters from eight towns responded.

“The whole roof of the house was gone and flames were shooting out of the gable ends of his shop when we got there,” he said.

Nealley said the origin of the fire may never be known because the home was burned to the ground. But he noted that the Harts had been burning brush the day before, and that fire had spread out of control. That blaze consumed nearly 20 acres of fields and woods before it was extinguished.

Lost in the blaze were wildlife drawings and measurements that Hart made over the years, as well as a taxidermy collection of life-sized animals. There were also collections of rare books and other artwork, photographs and slides.

Many of the bronze sculptures displayed in his yard – bears, moose, deer and tortoises – were spared, although they will require sandblasting to remove the soot.

That was not the case with most of the bronze pieces inside, some of which melted from the intense heat, leaving their shapes distorted.

“A lot of the earlier ones I was getting tired of looking at anyway, so I’m going to start over,” Hart said. “Burn the bridges and look ahead.”