CHOCOLAY TOWNSHIP, Mich. (WJMN) – With recent storms across the Upper Peninsula, the Michigan Department of Natural Resources is asking people to be extra cautious when it comes to fire safety.
According to the DNR, nine out of ten wildfires in Michigan and across the nation are caused by humans. However, this time of the year, lightning strikes can also cause wildfires.
“We had several rainstorms come through with significant lightning strikes, and so right now coming into the weekend those can be popping up,” said Public Information Officer John Pepin. “The extra care with fire is our firefighters may be busy in these areas, often remote areas that are hard to get to, fighting fires from lightning strikes. So if there are other fires popping up from other things it’s going to be potentially a weekend where there’s a lot of fire activity out there. To help us out, we want everyone to be extra careful with fires.”
If you’re going to burn anything this weekend, such as debris, Pepin asks that you go to www.michigan.gov/burnpermit. You can select the area that you live in on the website and it will show you if burning is permitted or not for that day. Also, check your local municipalities for burning ordinances.
