Officials at the Michigan Department of Natural Resources say fire danger in northern Michigan remains very high to extreme.
This comes after multiple wildfires struck the region over the weekend in Grayling, Iosco county and a portion of the Huron-Manistee National Forest near Oscoda.
Meteorologists with the National Weather Service office in Gaylord told WCMU a rise in humidity has slightly reduced the risk of wildfires and pulled down red flag warnings for the region Sunday evening.
The Weather Service reports humidity levels have nearly doubled since the weekend and are between 30-40%, at least for now.
"We're expecting lower relative humidity going into Tuesday, Wednesday, Thursday as well as slightly higher winds," said Andy Sullivan with the National Weather Service office in Gaylord. "A little gusty, nothing extreme, but maybe around 15 or as much as 20 miles an hour."
Jeff Zoltowski, a meteorologist with the National Weather Service office in Gaylord, added that red flag warnings are likely to reappear as the week progresses.
High levels of dryness mixed with breezy conditions this time of year for the region, Zoltowski said, is unusual.
"Our fields are very dry," Zoltowski added. "Things are ready to burn."
Sullivan said northern Michigan hasn’t had widespread rain for about a month. He says the region isn’t expecting any rain until Friday evening, but that’s subject to change.
Fire danger is still EXTREME throughout Michigan.
— Michigan Department of Natural Resources (@MichiganDNR) June 5, 2023
Please keep this in mind and watch over any campfires/cooking fires with water and a shovel nearby.
DNR fire crews have already responded to 193 fires so far this year.
Open burning permits are not being issued at this time. pic.twitter.com/y2G7NczfLi
Northern Michigan is at unprecedented levels for the risk of wildfire spread, DNR Public Information Officer Laurie Abel told WCMU Sunday.
Abel was a part of the DNR's Incident Management Team that responded to a wildfire southeast of Grayling over the weekend. 2,400 acres of forest were impacted by that fire.
The cause is being attributed to a campfire on private property. As of Monday afternoon, the wildfire was more than 90% contained with crews as far as Wisconsin assisting in the effort.
@MichiganDNR says the wildfire southeast of Grayling was caused by a campfire on private property. The wildfire impacted 2,400 acres and is 85% contained as of Sunday afternoon. No structural damage reported. Below are photos of the damage and my tour for @WCMUNews pic.twitter.com/k5cKXLvBUf
— Rick Brewer (@WCMUBrewer) June 4, 2023
Three outbuildings were lost as a result of the wildfire near Grayling, the DNR reported Sunday evening.
Estimates show the blaze threatened 35 residences, 38 vehicles including 23 campers and three boats and 58 other outbuildings. The DNR said teams are continuing to evaluate any damage to structures and property.
"It’s just primed for this to happen all over again," said Abel.
In Iosco county nearly 300 acres burned before the wildfire was contained by the DNR and Forest Service over the weekend.
Five individuals were evacuated Saturday evening but returned to their homes after a few hours. According to Iosco county dispatch, the fire has been fully contained and no structural damage has been reported.
On Saturday, the Huron-Manistee National Forests reported a wildfire 13 miles west of Oscoda that impacted nearly 100 acres of land.
As of Monday morning, officials at the Forest say the wildfire dubbed the Oats Fire, due to its origin on Oats Road, is 35% contained and has not increased in size.
The DNR says burn permits won’t be handed out in northern Michigan until further notice.
Campfires aren't illegal, said Abel, "But you need to make sure you’ve got water sources."
To reduce the risk of wildfires, the DNR recommends
- Never leave a fire unattended, even for a moment.
- Check first to see if conditions allow for burning at Michigan.gov/BurnPermit.
- Always put fires out completely with water. Drench the coals, stir with a shovel and drench again.
- Don’t park vehicles over dry grass; heat from vehicles can ignite dry grass. Make sure no trailer chains are dragging, which can create sparks, and be careful when using power equipment outside.
Over the weekend, Governor Gretchen Whitmer activated the State Emergency Operations Center (SEOC) in response to the outbreak of wildfires in the region.
The establishment of the SEOC will provide additional state resources to first responders in the event of more wildfires.
Editor's note: In the interest of transparency, we note the Michigan DNR is a financial supporter of WCMU.
