Duck Lake Fire at 63 percent containment; Snyder, Stabenow visit with area residents

Duck_Lake_Fire_map_5-31-12_1930 For the first time since the Duck Lake Fire started in the Upper Peninsula’s Luce County, the Michigan Department of Natural Resources has reported the fire area is more than 60 percent contained. More accurate GPS information has helped the department determine that fire area containment, as of this morning, stood at 63 percent.

The south end of the fire is 14 miles north of Newberry and 7 miles west from Tahquamenon Falls State Park campgrounds. The fire is long and narrow and stretches 11 miles to the north to Lake Superior. There are currently 45 miles of fireline. Of that, 6 miles is Lake Superior shoreline, 20 miles is completed line (that includes County Road 500), and uncontained fireline was reduced to 19 miles. Access remains very difficult with few roads.

Cooler temperatures allowed fire crews to construct fireline across all of Division G in the southeast corner of the fire, across roughly one-half of the east side of the fire and roughly two-thirds of the fire’s west side. Crews continue to remove hazard trees.

Governor Rick Snyder and Senator Debbie Stabenow visited the fire area on Thursday and talked with residents who lost structures in the fire. Both expressed their thanks to the firefighters for their efforts.

Detection aircraft identified a lightning fire from Monday’s thunderstorms south of Bodi Lake. National Guard helicopters made multiple drops on the fire and succeeded in knocking it down. Crews will check this fire today.

The latest estimate on structure loss is unchanged. There are 138 properties within the perimeter of the fire; 138 sites have been inspected to this point, with one remaining that had no fire number. Assessments are ongoing to make sure there are no unknown sites that have not been visited. A total of 132 structures have been lost, with a breakdown as follows:

• 46 homes/cabins
• 23 garages
• 35 sheds/outbuildings
• 26 campers
• 1 store
• 1 motel

Landowners (including in-state and out-of-state residents) who have property located within the fireline should call 211 (Upper Peninsula residents) and 1-800-338-1119 (all others) to register their structure location and contact information. Officials do not have contact information for all properties within the fire perimeter, so it is very important that all landowners make contact. As the structure inventory and damage assessments are completed, the involved parties will be contacted and informed of the status of their property.

An evacuation order remains in effect for the area from Pike Lake east to County Road 500 and north to Little Lake Harbor. The DNR expects to make an announcement later today about when the evacuation order may be lifted for landowners.

Road closures include County Road 414 east from the intersection with County Road 410 and County Road 500 from M-123 north to Little Lake Harbor. Please do not enter the area. All road closures remain in effect until further notice. No road reopening schedule has been determined due to ongoing fire issues and aircraft suppression efforts.

A special note about area tourism and businesses
The DNR reminds the public that the Tahquamenon Falls/Paradise area is open for business. As crews make good progress on the Duck Lake Fire in Luce County, campgrounds, state parks, resorts and other businesses throughout the region and the Upper Peninsula are open and eager to welcome tourists. The community of Paradise is ready for visitors. Tahquamenon Falls State Park was completely untouched by the fire; its Upper Falls viewing area and Lower Falls campground and visitor center are open. The Crisp Point Lighthouse is also outside the fire area.

The Duck Lake Fire is in a remote area, is not currently putting up a smoke plume, is not affecting the surrounding areas and has not seen significant activity since Monday, May 28. While visitors are asked to avoid the immediate fire area, the rest of the U.P. stands ready to offer up Pure Michigan vacation memories.

For more information on the Duck Lake Fire situation, visit www.michigan.gov/dnr (where you can sign up for wildfire incident updates via email or text message) or follow www.twitter.com/michiganDNR, www.twitter.com/michiganDNR_UP or www.facebook.com/miDNR.