SKOWHEGAN — It is not uncommon for firefighters to be called to Sappi’s Somerset Mill in Skowhegan a few times per year.

The paper mill is a massive, industrial facility, with no shortage of combustible material on site.

But a stretch of dry, hot weather has led to a recent uptick in fires at the mill on Waterville Road, according to company and fire officials, drawing in emergency resources from around the region to battle each blaze.

In a typical year, the Skowhegan Fire Department is called to about three to five fires at the facility, Deputy Chief Ryan Johnston said. This year, the department has responded to nine or ten fires — with six or seven those in June, July and the first half of this month.

“I attribute maybe 80% of it to the high heat and the lack of rain,” Johnston said via telephone Tuesday. “I think that that doesn’t help matters.”

Johnston said the typical culprit of fires at the mill — even in the colder winter months — is a bearing or other piece of machinery that overheats. Motors operating in higher temperatures naturally run even hotter than they usually do, he said.

Throw in dry conditions, and dust accumulates on equipment, which also contributes to fires, Johnston said.

The fires in recent weeks have been outside in the woodyard and on conveyor belts, according to Johnston. On Friday, for example, fire departments from several communities responded to a three-alarm fire on a conveyor belt that took several hours to extinguish.

Along with the more typical outside fires, firefighters were also called to a hazmat incident Sunday, Johnston said, which was determined to be a chlorine leak prompted by a system shutdown. The fire department was on scene for several hours to address the issue.

“It’s not very often,” Johnston said of fire calls at the facility. “So, this is a little bit busier than normal for us, going up there. I don’t know if there’s any aging equipment that’s going on — I’m really not sure on that end of it. There’s nothing suspicious going on or anything like that. I think it’s just an equipment issue, along with the dry heat.”

Blue Keim, managing director of the Somerset Mill, said via email there has been no impact to mill operations from the recent fires and the facility has continued to operate at full capacity.

“As the fire department has informed us, it is a very dry summer and processes that have potential to build heat are more susceptible to fire danger than in normal higher-humidity years,” Keim said. “Sappi is committed to principles of manufacturing excellence and maintenance best practices. These processes are especially important in low humidity situations.”

Sappi North America, a Boston-headquartered subsidiary of a large international company based in South Africa, operates the Somerset Mill. About 780 employees work at the mill, which is off off U.S. Route 201, the company says on its website. In addition to the Somerset Mill, Sappi operates mills in Westbrook; Cloquet, Minnesota; and Matane, Quebec.

The company recently announced the completion of its multiyear, $500 million effort to convert and expand the Paper Machine No. 2 at the Skowhegan mill. Production of high-performance solid bleached sulfate paperboard on that machine is expected to ramp up to full volume in 2026.

Johnston, of the fire department, said he is planning to meet with Sappi officials this week to discuss how the two organizations can better support each other. There is some new leadership at the mill, Johnston said, and the fire department is also going through a transition following the retirement of Chief Ronnie Rodriguez earlier this summer.

The Somerset Mill has an emergency response team that assists responding firefighters, Johnston said. For example, a mill security officer is stationed at a unified command post to facilitate communication on radio channels that fire departments cannot access.

“It’s a really great working relationship,” Johnston said.

The recent fires at the mill have required Skowhegan to call in mutual aid from neighboring communities, Johnston said. The fires at the mill typically need firefighters from four to six towns, and then those responding departments need mutual aid coverage from other departments.

“You may only have seven towns on scene, but you affect 11 towns or more,” Johnston said. “It’s not Sappi’s fault. That’s a staffing issue that’s a global firefighting issue, not just Sappi or the local homeowner.”