AUGUSTA, Maine — Maine forestry officials say the hot, dry summer may well deliver a bonus: an excellent leaf-peeping season.
Maine’s foliage spokeswoman, Gale Ross, said that even before the season started she fielded numerous inquiries from potential visitors, including one from China. The visitors might be delighted.
‘‘We’ve had nice dry, hot summer,’’ Ross said. ‘‘We’re setting ourselves up for an ideal foliage season.’’
Ross said that some stressed trees have already begun to turn, as have some swamp maples in northern Maine. The bulk of Maine’s trees will turn full color within the next few weeks.
Bill Ostrofsky, a forest pathologist at the Maine Forest Service, said hardwood foliage ‘‘appears to be in better-than-average condition, overall. There have been no occurrences of serious or widespread insect defoliation, so to date the Maine forest has the potential to have a great season this year.’’
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The season’s first online fall foliage report, which appeared Wednesday, showed leaves still green in the lower two-thirds of Maine.
But in the far northern and northwestern parts of the state, 10 to 30 percent of the leaves had changed, marking the start of the season.
The Maine Department of Agriculture, Conservation, and Forestry’s reports, which break the state into seven zones, will continue until the entire state has reached past-peak conditions, Ross said.
Maine’s fall foliage website, mainefoliage.com, offers easy access on mobile devices, as well as on computers. Leaf peepers can take photos with their phones and instantly submit them to the site, Ross said. The site also incorporates a link to Facebook, which allows leaf peepers to instantly access foliage updates, she said.