DNR Fire Warning

wildfire
wildfire

The risk of wildfire started by fireworks is higher than normal this Fourth of July because of the recent hot, dry weather. The heat is drying out vegetation, according to the Michigan Department of Natural Resources. The agency is asking people to take extra precautions, especially in the northern part of the state on the lake shores. Paul Rogers, a fire prevention specialist with the DNR, tells us dune grass may look green and healthy. However, looks can be deceiving.

“Dune grass will be very green, but the grass underneath will be very dry; and it’ll be the grass left from last year that hasn’t decayed away yet, that dries right away. And when we reach these kind of temperatures, even though the grass looks green, it will still burn.”

Last year, a teenager in Oregon tossed fireworks into a canyon and started a 48,000 acre blaze. Last month, a Michigan resident using fireworks accidentally started a blaze at Tunnel Park in Holland, near the site of a 2015 incident that destroyed a set of stairs going to the beach.