Traverse City Record-Eagle

Crawford County

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  • The Meridian Boundary Fire near South Branch Township in Crawford County is shown. Crews continue to fight two forest fires in dry, windy northern Michigan, both of which have forced people to leave their homes. The Associated Press/Randy McKenzie

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May 28, 2010

Crawford wildfire 95 percent contained

South Branch fire has burned 8,586 acres

BY LINDSAY VANHULLE lvanhulle@record-eagle.com

GRAYLING — Authorities continue to work to contain a large wildfire in Crawford County.

The fire has consumed 8,586 acres in the county's South Branch Township, according to the Michigan Department of Natural Resources and Environment.

It remained about 95 percent contained as of Thursday afternoon.

The other 5 percent is in a marshy area on the fire's western edge, said Ada Takacs, a DNRE public information officer in Roscommon. Its softer soil makes it harder to get suppression lines to hold.

"We got into some areas that are a little wetter," she said. "It still has the potential to jump over that line."

The DNRE reported 12 destroyed homes, six damaged homes and 36 other buildings that have been affected.

Another 181 structures, both within and outside the fire's border, were considered threatened but are standing, Takacs said.

Efforts could be hampered by a projected warm, dry holiday weekend.

The only likelihood of rain in the forecast is Monday, Memorial Day, with about a 40 percent chance of thunderstorms, said Scott Rozanski, a meteorologist with the National Weather Service in Gaylord.

Temperatures today through Monday should range from 80 to 85 degrees, with Saturday and Sunday the warmest, Rozanski said. Lows should fall close to 50 degrees.

"It has been dry," he said, adding that below-normal rainfall could affect firefighters. "No rain is probably not a benefit to them."

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