(WWJ) - Firefighters with the Michigan Department of Natural Resources and local fire crews are battling back a raging wildfire burning Montmorency and Cheboygan counties, officials said Saturday morning.
The wildfire, dubbed the Blue Lakes Fire, has grown to consume over 2,000 acres; DNR spokeswoman Kerry Heckman joined WWJ's Mike Campbell for a live interview Saturday morning where she said the fire is about 30% contained.
Heckman said the cause fire remains under investigation at this time, but was discovered shortly after noon on Friday. She explained the wildfire is feeding off underbrush such as jack pine, mixed pine and grasses.
She said "a very large smoke plume [is] visible from miles away."
Heckman is confident that fire crews battling the flames can bring more of the wildfire under control.
Related
"We have over 40 DNR firefighters on the ground. We also have six local fire departments that are assisting and then additional law enforcement and EMS on hand," Heckman said. "We also have an incident management team that has 12 members that are managing the fire and we have a DNR plane overseeing operations from the air right now. We also have the ability for additional air support, in the way of helicopter with a bucket, if we need it."
Heckman said no members of the public have been harmed, despite the evacuation of 13 people from the Black River Ranch northeast of Gaylord. About 12 structures, seven residential and five outbuildings, at the hunting camp were threatened which sparked the evacuation.
"At this point we don't expect further evacuations, but that is something we will be monitoring closely as we continue suppression efforts," Heckman said, "but we have not lost any structures."
One DNR firefighter did sustain a minor injury, but no other firefighters were hurt.
Burn permits were not given out and the DNR has not done prescribed burns for over a week due to weather conditions, Heckman confirmed.
She said several road closures were in place due to the unpredictable nature of wildfires. They are as follows:
• Blue Lakes Road to East Branch Road
• Black River Road to Camp 30 Road
• Clark Bridge Road to Black River Road
• Blue Lakes Road to Meridian Line Road.
• The Black River between Blue Lakes Road and Clark Bridge Road also is closed.
Related
Heckman said campgrounds will not be affected as the wildfire is burning clear of any sites. She did warn that some areas in the state forest could have "snags" or standing, burnt out trees that could be dangerous; she urged campers to avoid those sites.
The fire danger in the area is what Heckman calls "extreme" because of dry, windy, hot weather -- conditions are expected across most of Michigan through the weekend.
"The DNR reminds people to check Michigan.gov/BurnPermit before planning to burn yard debris or start a campfire, and always to have an accessible water source nearby."
For more fire safety tips, visit Michigan.gov/PreventWildfires.