A view of the forest fire in Northern Michigan from West Branch.
/ Courtesy Amy Zettel
The following is a report from Camp Grayling's Range #9 staff:
A controlled pre-burn at Camp Grayling's Range #9 (western portion of camp Grayling, near Kalkaska and Crawford County borders) was started around noon yesterday(Tuesday). DNR was aware of controlled burn and ok'd it. Around 2:30-3:00 p.m. the winds picked up and the burn got out of control, moving east to west near Portage Creek. The fire was back in control between 8-9 p.m. This morning crews are actively looking for hot spots.
Most of the fire occurred within Camp Grayling boundaries but an unknown portion burned off post.
Michigan Army National Guard helicopters with bambi buckets (used to carry water to put out large fires) were on stand-by at the Grand Ledge Army Aviation Facility but were never launched/used/needed.
Exact damage is not yet know but it appears to be minimal:
On Camp Grayling no structural damage, three unused plastic connex boxes melted, and vegetation burned.
Near the military / private property border it appears there is a loss of 4 private (civilian) summer cottages that appear to be mobile homes. Our legal department (JAG) is on standby to actively work with any civilian claims.
No injuries or loss of life has been reported.
Media incorrectly reported a 10-mile radius around Camp Grayling was evacuated. Actually only 24 people were evacuated.
Camp Grayling Fire Chief reports this is the first fire to leave Camp Grayling's property in recent memory. There was a fire several years ago (unsure of date) that got away from them that just burned Camp Grayling property.
The number of pre-burns conducted so far this year is 8 with approximately 9000 acres burned.
The average number of pre-burns per year are approximately 20 and we typically burn about 9000 acres per year.
