GRAYLING (WWJ) – While crews have contained about 90% of the wildfire that broke out near Grayling over the weekend, officials say the risk for fire across the state is still “extreme.”
Laurie Abel with the Michigan DNR says while some areas of the state saw light rain early Monday morning, it was not significant enough to ease any concerns over fires spreading.
WWJ’s Zach Clark learns on a new Daily J podcast that while Grayling may be hundreds of miles away from Metro Detroit, we’re not safe from fire risk, by any means.
AccuWeather meteorologist Dean DeVore says the area only saw about 25% of normal rainfall throughout the month of May and June is already off to a dry start. There’s no sign of rain in sight, according to DeVore.
Rich Pullman, warning coordination meteorologist for the National Weather Service in Metro Detroit, says it’s been bleak.
“Really the last time we saw rain was Friday, May 19, with a little bit into the overnight. That Friday evening was the last time we saw any precipitation,” Pullman said.
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That means we’re approaching nearly three weeks without rain.
“Given our current forecast, we’re really not expecting any precipitation until Sunday or Monday of next week,” he said.
But as we flirt with an anticipated 3 ½ weeks without rain, Pullman says there’s no “quick fix” to the drought.
“If we get a heavy rainfall event, the drier the soil is, the more likely it is to act like concrete and it’ll actually runoff, so we won’t get to absorb as much water as a normally saturated ground,” Pullman said, noting it would be better to see multiple smaller rain events over a few weeks.
That’s why Abel says it’s important for Michiganders to be responsible with bonfires and campfires as we enter the summer.
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