Elderly Man Dies In Fire While Burning Bugs

(WWJ) Don't try this at home ... or in the woods.

That's the message from police after a 77-year-old Michigan man was found dead inside an area of burned forest. Officers believe he had been burning insects and somehow set fire to himself and the surrounding area.

It happened at about 4:35 p.m. May 11 in Clare County in northern Michigan.

An out-of-control fire was reported at approximately 4:35 p.m. on May 11 to the Clare County Central Dispatch in Franklin Township. The man in question was already dead, police said.

His wife told them he was using an accelerant to burn pest insects including caterpillars.

What caused the fire to spark and spread out of control was still under investigation.

"The caller advised that they could see their neighbor lying on the ground in the fire, but was unable to get close enough to the person to check for any injuries," said sheriff John Wilson in a release.

According to the Morning Sun of Mt. Pleasant, the Harrison Fire Department and Department of Natural Resources Fire Division quickly extinguished the blaze; the fire reportedly consumed approximately 0.6 acres of woods.