AUGUSTA — Maine’s five candidates for governor will participate in the first televised gubernatorial debate on hunting, fishing and other outdoor issues next month.

The debate will be held at 2:30 p.m. Friday, Oct. 1, at the Augusta headquarters of the Sportsman’s Alliance of Maine at 205 Church Hill Road.

It will be taped as a 60-minute extended episode of Wildfire, which is co-hosted by George Smith and Harry Vanderweide, editor of The Maine Sportsman.

Wildfire’s format “is a free-wheeling conversation, uninterrupted by advertisements, totally unscripted, and should be exciting,” Smith said by e-mail Wednesday. He is SAM’s executive director.

Wildfire is the only Maine talk show dedicated to covering environmental and sportsman’s issues, its website says.

The Time Warner cable channel will air the debate statewide three times in prime time during the third week of October. It will also be available online at www.wildfiremaine.tv.

tkarkos@sunjournal.com