Fire Sweeps Through 15,428 Acres in U.P.
200 People Working To Prevent Spread to South
By Paul Gingras

Firefighters spray a mixture of foam and water, soaking embers and preventing them from rekindling the Tokar Ridge Fire, an approximately 40-acre blaze contained by firefighters Saturday, August 4. The terrain is similar to that in the massive Sleeper Lake Fire nearby. Both have burned treed bogs, where patches of dry vegetation and peat are side-by-side with damp, untouched spots.

The Sleeper Lakes forest fire north of Newberry continued to spread Tuesday, August 7, consuming 15,428 acres in a swath eight miles long and 3.5 miles wide as heat, winds, and bogs hampered containment. The fire, which started Thursday, August 2, probably from a lightning strike, has yet to reach populated areas or cause any serious injuries, although an evacuation was conducted Tuesday along County Road 407 from Pine Stump Junction to Halfway Lake, with the road scheduled to be closed at 1 p.m.

A precautionary evacuation was also in progress Tuesday on M-123 from Widgeon Road south of Murphy Creek. The evacuation there, according to the Department of Natural Resources, is to avoid a more rushed evacuation in the event the wind should change or increase.

A portion of Lake Superior State Forest smolders Saturday, August 4, as firefighters hold a line around the 40-acre blaze. This fire, named the Tokar Ridge Fire, began 2.5 miles from the Sleeper Lake Fire, which began Thursday, August 2. It was still burning at press time.

The fire has not crossed M-123. Bordering its northern front are CR 407 and the East Branch of the Two- Hearted River.

Smoke from the blaze has been smelled as far south as Cheboygan, residents there report.

The fire, in Lake Superior State Forest, started about six miles north of Newberry in Luce County and has been spreading north.

Firefighters from Garfield, Portage, Hendricks, and Hudson townships in Mackinac County are assisting local, state, and federal forces in the area, with support from Wisconsin and Minnesota. At press time, more than 200 people were involved in fire-suppression efforts.Tuesday, crews focused on completing a major fire break to prevent the blaze from moving south toward Newberry, reported DNR information officer Ann Wilson, adding that Tahquamenon State Park, Muskallonge Lake State Park, and all campgrounds to the north of the Sleeper Lakes Fire, and west toward Munising, remain open and affected only by smoke. The DNR advises that visitors avoid the fire area, however, because fire crews and equipment are using the roads.

Plumes of smoke from the Sleeper Lake Fire rise above Lake Superior State Forest near M-123 Saturday, August 4. At that point, about 5,000 acres of remote swamp, bog, and marsh land were on fire. By Tuesday, the blaze had spread over more than 15,000 acres.

DNR firefighters expect to continue fighting the blaze throughout the week. Several homes and hunting camps in Luce County have been evacuated. Aportion of M-123 north of Newberry, formerly closed, has been reopened.

The blaze blew through firefighters' western boundary line Saturday afternoon, moving quickly toward Pine Stump Junction and County Road 407, and the DNR recommended that area residents and visitors plan for evacuation.

A gray outline to the west of M-123 details the area covered by the Sleeper Lakes Fire. At 9 a.m. Tuesday, August 7, the fire was between County Road 407, M-123, and the east branch of the Two Hearted River. The fire is burning remote swamp, bog, and marshland in Lake Superior State Forest, although winds threaten to spread the blaze to permanent residences along County Road 407. (Map courtesy of the Michigan Department of Natural Resources)

Evacuations were ordered at County Road 420 near Pine Stump Junction, including the East Branch Sportsmen's Club and Spile Dam Club. A meeting Monday to discuss possible evacuation was attended by 150 people.

"We are getting into areas with more permanent residences," said Tracy Casselman of the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, adding "It is one thing to leave a hunting camp behind, it is something else to leave your home."

The fire is "probably the largest in the Newberry area since the end of the logging days," said DNR information officer Les Homan, and by Saturday, it had eclipsed the Tower Lakes Fire of 1999 near Marquette, which burned 5,625 acres in five days.

Incident Commander Jason Tokar (left) and Department of Natural Resources Information Officer Les Homan discuss the progress of the Tokar Ridge Fire Saturday, August 4. They are standing in an area where the fire burst through the containment line and was later brought under control.

By comparison, the Seney fire of 1976 burned 73,000 acres and lasted two months, in part because it went underground into the vast peat bogs of the area.

Marshland terrain made it impossible to transport water to more than 70% of the blaze early on, but firefighting aircraft were later dispatched to the scene.

Over the weekend, two aircraft were sent from Minnesota, including a water bomber. The Wisconsin DNR sent five, large, water-pumper vehicles and a 20-member strike team, and the Forest Service has dispatched a helicopter water bucketship to the scene twice. Three additional helicopters poured water on the front line of the fire. They were sent from the Camp Grayling Joint Maneuver Training Center.

Areas along M-123 north of Newberry were burned to provide a fire break, which was effective along the highway, but to the north the fire quickly moved toward County Road 420. At the southern boundary, firefighters expanded a two-track road 1.5 miles north of Four Mile Corners to County Road 407. The line is about one mile north of Halfway Lake.

More than 110 firefighters and support personnel were on the scene by Sunday. Eight bulldozers, 12 water units, four volunteer fire department trucks, and four small, all-terrain-vehicles were in use at press time. Three vehicles capable of accessing marshland were provided by Seney National Wildlife Refuge.

The Sleeper Lakes Fire was spotted by the DNR Thursday at 3 p.m. during routine aerial surveillance, and a team of fire experts was dispatched to the scene, although there has been no investigation to confirm the fire's cause, Mr. Homan said. It began near Sleeper Lakes in Luce County, east of County Road 407, about six miles north of Newberry.

Near its origin, firefighters contained a separate, 37-acre blaze dubbed the Tokar Ridge Fire. Over the weekend, a park ranger reported a third blaze in Tahquamenon Falls State Park, said DNR Press Secretary Mary Dettloff. This blaze was contained and nearly controlled.

Tahquamenon Park remains open. Rumors regarding its closure were inaccurate, Ms. Dettloff told The St. Ignace News. The Tahquamenon fire began near the upper falls, where lightning splintered a large white pine tree, Mr. Homan said. At press time, the Sleeper Lakes Fire was 10 miles from Tahquamenon's western border and posed no threat to the park.

These three fires, and 15 more that began in the Upper Peninsula over the weekend, have pushed the limits of state firefighters.

Wind direction will determine the course of the Sleeper Lakes Fire. At worst, strong winds could spread it toward Paradise, Newberry, or Munising, Mr. Homan said. At best, heavy rainfall could put it out. No rainfall strong enough to alter drought conditions is in the forecast, and Mr. Homan expects fire danger to remain high throughout the summer.

The odds of the Sleeper Lakes Fire "going far are not strong," he added. Eventually, it will hit timber types that are harder to set on fire than the dry, marshland plants and jack pine that are burning now.

"We will be mopping up after this for quite awhile," he said

This involves identifying hot areas that remain after the fire goes out. Firefighters soak or smother hot spots to prevent them from restarting the blaze, he explained.

Owing to budget constraints, the state has 81 fire officers this year. Traditionally, Michigan has maintained a minimum of 100.

Noting prolonged drought conditions this summer, the fire management division of the DNR chose to keep all but two of Michigan's fire officers in the state, Ms. Dettloff said. Normally, several assist firesuppression efforts in the west during the summer. Michigan rarely experiences serious wildfires between spring and fall, she said.

A lack of firefighting equipment is a serious problem at the Sleeper Lakes Fire, which has burned through nearly inaccessible, driedout marshland. Workers have required specialized vehicles for access. Owing to the size of the blaze and difficulty of access, the Sleeper Lakes Fire will be "very expensive" for Michigan, Mr. Homan said.

An emergency operations center has been set up at a DNR facility near the intersection of M-28 and M-123. At Four Mile Corners and M-123, an incident command post has been set up to serve firefighters and answer questions. The American Red Cross and Eastern Upper Peninsula Search and Rescue are at the site.

Over the weekend, officials visited two permanent residences and four hunting camps in the vicinity of the fire, where they found three people at home. All were told to leave the area, said Ms. Dettloff. The dwellings are located between Widgeon Road and Murthy Creek, and near Chesbrough Lake.

The remote marshland fire is in prime moose territory where vast areas of dry marsh plants, interspersed with ridges of jack pine, acted "like gasoline" for the fire, Ms. Dettloff said. A high pressure weather system over the state created hot, dry, windy conditions that worsened the situation.

Like the 1976 Seney Wildlife Refuge fire to the west, the presence of peat has contributed to the ferocity of this blaze. When wet, peat can hold a great deal of water, making it difficult to burn, but when dry, its organic content burns easily. Areas of peat can reach several feet beneath the surface of marshlands, making it possible for fires to burn underground, pass along the water table, and erupt at distant locations. By Sunday, this had not occurred at the Sleeper Lakes Fire, but workers observed fire burning into roots and stumps, an indication that underground fires could begin, Mr. Homan said. Mop up efforts can prevent this.

Much of the territory is covered with marsh grass, leather leaf bogs, tag alder, and other low, wetland plants. In the fire zone, wet areas are side-by-side with dry ones, causing the fire to burn "in patches," he said. Areas of untouched plants and living roots beneath the fire will survive and regenerate the area's vegetation fairly easily, he explained, adding that the fire is part of a "natural ecological cycle."

Eventually, all forms of wilderness burn. How dry and hot conditions are prior to the onset of the fire determines the size and intensity of a given fire, he added.

From its origin Thursday, wind spread the fire southeasterly toward M-123. By Friday night, smoke from the blaze had obscured the far ridge across Moran Bay in St. Ignace and smoke was reported in Cedarville, on Mackinac Island, and even Cheboygan. The Michigan Department of Transportation (MDOT) closed a portion of M- 123 between Four Mile Corners, north of Newberry, and Tahquamenon Falls State Park north, near Paradise, owing to fire danger and heavy smoke.

Firefighters focused their efforts at M-123, where they hoped to prevent the blaze from crossing the highway.

Tractors and other heavy equipment began getting stuck in the boggy wetland, and were withdrawn.

By 10 p.m. Friday, the fire was less than 20% contained, but the blaze stopped spreading Friday night when winds died down.

Workers dug ditches with bulldozers, soaked areas with water, and back-burned vegetation from the ground to create fire breaks in an effort to prevent the fire from spreading toward the Two Hearted River, Ms. Dettloff said.

By 7:30 a.m. Saturday, the fire had not spread, but it continued to burn intensely. The acreage consumed remained nearly the same, about 5,000 acres, said Mr. Les Homan, but owing to fire danger, M-123 remained closed.

Workers on the site overnight reported active burning shags and flames that reached 10 feet in height. About 75 firefighters were dispatched to the scene, including seven water units, six bulldozers, and three all terrain vehicle water units.

By Tuesday, the burned area had almost tripled in size and the DNR requested that the public avoid the fire area. Agencies involved included the DNR, the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, the Newberry Volunteer Fire Department, western Mackinac County volunteer fire departments, Columbus and Hulbert volunteer fire departments, the American Red Cross, the Luce County Sheriff's Auxiliary, and U.P. Search and Rescue. Owing to the volume of incoming phone calls at the Newberry Field Office, the DNR has set up a free information line at (877) 261-3473. Recordings update the path of the fire, evacuation areas, roads closed, and firefighting strategies.

The department reports that there are several activities property owners can do to protect their dwellings. Information is available at www.firewise.org, or www.michigan.gov/dnr.