(WWJ) - Fire crews battling a wildfire in Northern Michigan are also fighting against windy, dry conditions and warm weather that has allowed the blaze to burn nearly 230 acres.
Public Information Officer Kerry Heckman with the Department of Natural Resources' Incident Management Team told WWJ's Beth Fisher that the wildfire, called the 4 Corner's fire, is about 80% contained and forced several dozen evacuations since it was first reported on Monday afternoon .
It continues to burn five miles east of Copemish, which is northwest of Cadillac. According to Heckman, the fire started in Manistee County, but quickly spread into neighboring Wexford County.
"It was about 3 p.m. yesterday afternoon, we received a call from 911 dispatch about a wildfire in the area and at that point in time, it was about 20 acres in size," Heckman explained. "Our fire crews responded at that time and it ended up getting to be about 225 acres or so."
As of 9 p.m. Monday evening, the fire was estimated to be 80% contained, but Heckman said crews worked through the night on suppression efforts, as well as making sure the containment lines established earlier in the day held up.
The wildfire threatened some homes in the area and forced several road closures. Roughly 30 people were evacuated by Michigan State Police, DNR Law Enforcement Division and the U.S. Forest Service Law Enforcement officers.
Some of those residents who were initially evacuated have been able to return to their homes, Heckman added, while others are still waiting on the all-clear.
Officials closed North 1 Road from 8 Road to Faylor Road as well as Viaduct Road to 3 Road to help firefighting efforts and protect public safety.
Heckman said the fire is being fueled by dry, windy conditions and warm weather. The area mainly consists of trees of jack and red pine.
"At least the next few days, we'll see what progress we're able to make today. Our goal is, of course, 100% containment and then once we do achieve that, then we will start to, what we call 'mop up,' which is taking care of the fire area within the interior of those containment lines," she told Fisher.
The fire has sparked a large-scale response from multiple agencies. The DNR has 18 firefighters on the ground with support from the U.S. Forest Service and fire crews from Grand Traverse, Kalkaska, Manistee and Wexford Counties.
Four U.S. Forest Service Fire Bosses and a DNR spotter plane are helping with efforts to contain the blaze by air. Law enforcement from Grand Traverse, Manistee and Wexford are also on scene.
It remains unclear how the wildfire started, but officials are continuing to investigate.
"We would just ask people to avoid [the area] so that we can continue our suppression efforts and ensure that we keep the public and our firefighters safe," Heckman added.
For a fire danger map, to check if burn permits are being issued, fire prevention information and more, visit Michigan.gov/DNR/FireAlert.