WATERFORD — Fire crews returned Friday morning to extinguish hot spots caused by a forest fire the previous night along the Rice Road.

The fire was first reported about 5 p.m. and burned about five acres of woods, Waterford Fire Chief Adrien Morin said.

The cause of the fire is still undetermined and no structures were damaged, Morin said.

Thursday’s blaze reportedly began in brush and spread to the nearby forest.

Rough terrain hampered firefighters because much of the fire damage occurred on a mountainside, Morin said.

Working in temperatures that flirted with 90 degrees also hampered firefighters’ efforts to keep the blaze from spreading. They remained at the scene until around midnight, Morin said.

Morin said firefighters from five or six area communities assisted the Waterford Fire Department at the scene.

Rice Road runs in a loop off Route 35 in North Waterford.

Fire and weather officials have been warning of fire danger in recent weeks as dry conditions persist across the area. According to the National Weather Service in Gray, the last significant rainfall in the region was May 15 when roughly half an inch fell.

“This year has been the driest on record for this period at all locations,” the NWS reported. “Typically late spring tends to be the wettest time of year in terms of number of rainy days, but 2020 has bucked that trend.”