Crews Battle 100-Acre Wildfire In Michigan's Upper Peninsula

HUMBOLDT TWP. (AP) - Crews in Michigan's Upper Peninsula have made progress in battling a roughly 100-acre wildfire that has been fueled by warm weather and strong winds, officials said Friday.

The "County Road 601" wildfire was about 95 percent contained Friday morning, said John Pepin, a spokesman with the Department of Natural Resources. Crews from the DNR and several township departments hoped to fully contain the fire Friday afternoon.

No injuries have been reported from the blaze, which was spotted Thursday afternoon in Marquette County's Humboldt Township. The fire started in an area where logging had occurred last winter and loggers had begun working this week to test a newly built road.

"The slash, stumps, debris and stacked piles of logs made for good fuel for the fire, but made it more difficult for firefighters working to build a containment line around the fire," said Pete Glover, incident commander on the fire for the DNR.

The cause wasn't immediately known. At least $150,000 worth of cut timber was burned, the DNR said.

The fire increased in size on Thursday amid temperatures in the mid-70s that were accompanied by winds gusting to 23 mph. Crews from the Humboldt, Champion, Ishpeming and Republic townships volunteer fire departments were among those involved.

"We have seven dozers and six engines working through heavy fuels and rough rocky terrain," said DNR Resource Protection Section Manager Paul Kollmeyer. "Structures are not immediately threatened and are being protected by the local volunteer fire departments."

Earlier this week, Michigan authorities said there was a growing danger of wildfires because of hot weather and a lack of rain in many parts of the state. The DNR said it was classifying the fire danger as high to very high in wide areas of the state into the weekend.

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