This full report comes from NBC25's sister station 7&4 in Traverse City:
CRAWFORD CO., MI -- It all began near the intersection of F-97 and M-18 in Crawford County.
Strong winds pushed the fire Southwest toward the city of Roscommon.
Thousands of people have been evacuated -- dozens of homes possibly destroyed.
The fire is burning, with no end in sight. The fire's burning up in the Jack Pines, and already, it's over 5,000 acres wide.
"The Jack Pine fires are always bad fires, you know, they move fast, they crown, which means they jump from tree to tree, it doesn't take long for them to burn up a lot of area," said U.S. Forest Service Spokesperson Carol Nilsson.
Here's the timeline:
5:00 pm- The fire was a large one, 1,000 acres big.
It spread quickly.
5:30 pm- The fire grew to 3,000 acres.
7:00 pm- The fire had engulfed over 5,000 acres.
The name of the inferno- "Meridian Boundary Fire." Trees are burning up, and with it, we've had reports by witnesses 20 structures have burned. We've confirmed from the U.S. forest service at least four structures have been damaged.
"We were at a moderate today, and possibly we were going to a high because the National Weather Service did put out a red flag warning, so I'm sure right now, it's at a high because of the high temps, low humidity, and some of the wind we'll be getting," said Nilsson.
Helicopters were working to contain the fire all afternoon, at 10 pm Tuesday, we learned they had been released because they had timed out. Tom O'Donnell is one concerned resident, concerned about the direction of the wind. He says if it switches, he's ready to go.
"I'm already packed and ready to go, I'm not taking any chances," said O'Donnell.
"As it hits more fuel, it'll change colors depending on what it's burning, and when you see more smoke plum, you know it's still moving, and still burning what's in its path," said Nilsson.
Latest update we've had as of 10 pm Tuesday Night is the incident commander flew the radius of the fire, and says it appears it's slowing down, but by no means is contained. Over 175 firefighters from all over are fighting it. The hope is with a 30 degree Tuesday night, the weather will help slow the progression. Firefighters will work through the night trying to get a line around the fire.
Officials say it could be days until the fire is contained, and weeks, or even months, until it's controlled.
Latest update- 11pm Tuesday- 40 firefighters will stay on the scene trying to get a line established around the fire.
Early Wednesday morning, firefighters will once again be at full force.
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