What are numbered fire lanes in rural Maine?

Question

I was driving through rural Maine recently and I saw a curious site. Along the road, there were dozens of small red-on-white signs that said "Fire Lane XX" (where XX was some unique number), typically next to unpaved driveways. They were interspersed among houses and regular driveways; it fact it looked like residential driveways had been designated as such. Obviously they have something to do with fires. They didn't appear to be connected with a state park or forest, as they were on both sides of the road and it seemed too widespread to border on some central area. Another possibility is that they just have so much wooded area in Maine that even private property requires fire access. Also, what significance do the numbers have? Is it merely a way to identify where the fire is? How are these things used?

Answer 1

Though I'm not entirely sure why the roads don't have more specific names - there were similar lanes where near where I grew up along Schoodic Lake in Brownville/Lakeview area. I just assumed no one bothered to name the roads because they were mostly seasonal homes. The numbers were sequential though going around the lake so they didn't have a specific reason beyond just being this road is Fire Road 1 the next one is Fire Road 2, etc. Each town may do it differently. I doubt it has anything to do with being a state park