U.P. wildfires back in the news
New blazes reported
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HANCOCK -- Strong winds last weekend fueled existing blazes and sparked two new wildfires across the Upper Peninsula, requiring a joint response from Michigan Department of Natural Resources (DNR) crews and local township fire departments.
According to a recent DNR release, winds contributed to a four-acre fire in Marquette Township near Wetmore Pond, which firefighters refer to as the Game 2 Fire, and an 11-acre fire in Sands Township known as the Silver Leaf Fire. DNR firefighters worked closely with local fire departments to battle those new weekend blazes.
John Pepin told the Daily Mining Gazette on Thursday that these two latest fires are 100 percent contained.
"They're mopped up," Pepin said, "but they're still tracking them every day just as a precaution. They're 100 percent contained, but there is no issue with them anymore."
The recent wind activity also pushed the western flank of the Ridge Fire in Marquette County, expanding it by about 30 acres and bringing the overall fire footprint to almost 500 acres, the DNR release says. Pepin said that despite the spread, the blaze remains well within firefighters’ confinement strategy.
The Ridge Fire is still burning deep in the duff layer of the forest floor, which is composed of fallen leaves and organic matter. Located about 10 miles northwest of Marquette between County Road 510 and North Basin Drive, the fire was originally spotted by airplane Oct. 9.
The Ridge Fire remains part of the regional Rugged Terrain Complex, which also includes the 606-acre Craig Lake Fire in Baraga County. Pepin said the 350-acre Black River Fire, about four miles south of Wakefield in Gogebic County, is 80 percent contained and is not threatening to nearby structures.
"Black River fire is 80 percent and not threatening anything," Pepin said.
At the Craig Lake Fire in Baraga County, public safety closures remain active for sections of Craig Lake State Park, the Teddy Lake Yurt, the North Country Trail and the Noquemanon Trail system.
The weekend flare-ups follow a prior Oct. 22 DNR report warning that while U.P. fires may be waning, the risk of new fire remains high across the region. DNR firefighters and cooperators have spent the past several weeks fighting the fires grouped as the Rugged Terrain Complex, including the Ridge Fire, the Craig Lake Fire and the Black River Fire near Wakefield in Gogebic County. Together, the blazes have burned nearly 1,400 acres.
DNR Fire Supervisor Peter Glover reported that crews continue to monitor all of the active sites daily from the air and on the ground to hold and improve established containment lines. Glover noted that the same steep, rocky terrain that has made ground suppression difficult also naturally helps check the fire’s spread. Nearby residents may continue to see and smell smoke depending on localized wind trajectories.
“What's going to stop this fire and put it out is season-ending rain and/or snow,” Glover said.