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Recreation areas reopen after Northern Michigan wildfire burns 2,400 acres

Jack pine trees are seen charred on Monday, June 5, 2023, alongside Barker Lake Road in Crawford County following a wildfire that burned southeast of Grayling starting on Saturday, June 3, 2023. The fire was reportedly more than 90% contained by Monday afternoon.

Firefighters talk to each other and on the radio on Monday, June 5, 2023, at the Wilderness Trail Fire southeast of Grayling in Crawford County. The wildfire began two days prior and burned 2,400 acres by Monday afternoon.

A valley full of jack pine trees burned in a wildfire that started on Saturday, June 3, 2023, in Crawford County. This view is from Staley Lake Road, which remained closed to the public on Monday, June 5, 2023.

A fire truck is parked along Barker Lake Road in Crawford County on Monday, June 5, 2023, at the back side of the Wilderness Trail Fire that started two days prior.

Jack pine trees along Staley Lake Road in Crawford County burned in a wildfire that started on Saturday, June 3, 2023. The forest fire named the Wilderness Trail Fire had burned 2,400 acres by the afternoon on Monday, June 5, 2023.

A fire break first responders carved through the forest along Barker Lake Road in Crawford County is seen on Monday, June 5, 2023, two days after a wildfire began to rip across the landscape. The fire was more than 90% contained by Monday.

A wildfire burned across this clear-cut area of the forest southeast of Grayling, seen on Monday, June 5, 2023, two days after the fire started.

Smoke from the Wilderness Trail Fire in Crawford County is seen across Four Mile Road near Grayling on Monday, June 5, 2023. The 2,400-acre fire started two days prior.

A Michigan conservation officer blocks public access to Barker Lake Road at Four Mile Road in Crawford County on Monday, June 5, 2023, because of a 2,400-acre wildfire that started two days prior and continued to burn.

A fire danger sign at Bear Lake Township Fire Station warns up north residents and visitors not to burn anything because of weather conditions on Monday, June 5, 2023, two days after a wildfire started in nearby Crawford County.

A pedestrian prepares to walk across a crosswalk in downtown Grayling on Monday, June 5, 2023.

The AuSable River flows through Grayling in northern Lower Michigan.

A digital sign along Interstate 75 just south of Grayling warns about high fire risk, two days after a 2,400-acre wildfire started nearby two days previously.

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GRAYLING, MI -- Recreation areas have reopened and local roads will open Tuesday in a Northern Michigan wooded area where fire burned 2,400 acres.

Michigan Department of Natural Resources staff on Monday, June 5 announced that the fire, known as the Wilderness Trail fire, is now more than 90 percent contained. The area is just southeast of Grayling.

In a statement issued Monday, the DNR said recreation and beach areas at Kneff Lake and Staley Lake have reopened. Local roads should be reopened Tuesday.

DNR staff is asking people curious about the fire to stay out of blackened areas because dead tress can pose a hazard and the ground may still be warm.

Mike Janisse, commander of the DNR Incident Management Team assisting with the fire, said it’s preferred if people temporarily avoid the area.

But if people do visit, they should stay on roads and keep pets on leashes. Fire crews likely will be in the area to finish duties and the DNR asks motorists to drive slowly.

The fire started about 1 p.m. Saturday, June 3 from a campfire on private property. It burned jack pine, mixed pines and hardwood trees.

With the recent warm and dry weather, the fire danger in Michigan is high.

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