Red Cross evaluates Marquette County wildfire

FOREST FIRE UPDATE

MICHIGAN DEPARTMENT OF NATURAL RESOURCES

************************* Black River Falls fire - evening update

Current status:

- Location: 7 miles SW of the city of Ishpeming.

- The area is rural with homes scattered through the area and in several small subdivisions.

- There are no known injuries or deaths.

- 33 structures lost, many more saved.

- No official fire cause determination has yet been made.

Changes since last update:

- Size: 824 acres.

- All road closure and evacuation orders have been lifted from all locations on the fire, however non-residents are encouraged to avoid the area to minimize congestion and allow residents the ability to move freely and check for property damage.

- The weather has cooperated to provide .11” of rain, cooler temperatures, slower winds, and higher humidities, making good fire progress possible.

- The fire is now estimated at 75 percent contained.

Resources committed to incident:

- A DNR incident command team under Incident Commander Paul Gaberdiel remains in control of the fire. - Also assigned to the fire today were personnel from the Michigan State Police, Marquette County Sheriff Department and EMS, volunteer fire departments from the City of Negaunee and Ishpeming.

- Working on the fire today were 67 personnel, six dozers and 10 engines carrying water, including four from the volunteer fire departments. This is in addition to several law enforcement units.

Tonight the plan is again to monitor the fire with one engine and rest the remaining personnel to be ready to work the fire during daylight hours.

Weather tomorrow is expected to bring a drying day, but the rains today should hold fire behavior in check.

Fire history

- The fire started between shortly before 5 p.m. on May 20 in heavy jack pine and moved into lower, wetter types. There was no significant movement of the fire on May 21. Cause remains unknown at this time.

Announcements/ additional information

- The Marquette County Humane Society advises that anyone finding or losing a pet or experiencing a need for sheltering an animal to please call the animal shelter at 475-6661 If you have an animal related emergency please call central dispatch at 475-9912.

- The American Red Cross will be conducting damage assessments on Friday, May 22, to determine additional assistance the may be possible through the Red Cross. If your home sustained major damage or was destroyed in the fire, please call the Red Cross office as soon as possible between 9am and 5pm on Friday, May 22. You may also leave a message during the evenings through the Memorial Day weekend at 906-249-9665, or 906-361-4090.

- Three other organizations are offering assistance to those impacted by the fire. Name and contact information are provided for all three:

- Salvation Army – 906-486-8121.

- Pigs and Heat c/o Marquette Police Department – 906-228-0400.

- St Vincent DePaul Society – 906-226-3840.

- There have been requests for information about where donations may be sent to aid those whose homes have been impacted by the fire. Contact information is provided for two organizations accepting donations to provide aid:

- Salvation Army, Ishpeming (Liz Nevela) – 906-486-8121.

- PC-Medic – 906-486-9911.

- Thanks again to all the emergency personnel for continuing to prevent any injuries on the fire.

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