This page will center on a wildfire that happened in 1990 east of the
town of Grayling, Michigan. By using facts and figures from a case
study done on the fire along with pictures and personal insight, I will put
into perspective the scope of this major wildfire. Also I will detail
efforts by area fire agencies to better cope with future wildfires.
"More than 76 homes and 125 other structures, plus 37 vehicles and boats were destroyed or heavily damaged during the approximately 5 hours in which the wind pushed the Stephan Bridege Road fire for a distance of more than 8 miles. Losses from the fire have been estimated at $5.5 million, plus another $700,000 in destroyed timber and another $56,000 in extinguishment costs. Due to a number of circumstances, 131 structures within the fire perimeter or immediately adjacent to it survived the fire".
"The fire originated from the controlled burning of a large pile of brush
and timber that accumulated from recently cleared land. A burning permit
was issued for the contrlloed burn and the burning was begun while snow
covered the ground. It was later assumed that the pile was completely
extinguished. However, investigators determined that the remaining fuel
in the pile rekindled - 7 weeks after the initial ignition - and escaped
undetected from the cleared area. The resulting fire spread to other
nearby ground fuels and extended into the adjacent forest before being
detected by a Michiagn Department of Natural Resources (DNR) aircraft
pilot and observer".
"Nature, especially weather, played a significant role in the ignition and
spread of this fire. May is typically the month of the highest weather
related fire danger in the region, a time when low rainfall, rising
temperatures and high winds combine to dry out the forest and ground
fuels. Further affecting the conditions for severe fire danger in the region
were the type of soils. With a high mixture of sand, the soil is quick to
drain any precipitation, making it especially difficult for the growing
vegetation to find moisture".
"Then, during fire suppression, weather added another major factor affecting fire control when a cold front passed over the area around 8:30 PM that night. Strong gusting winds sent the fire out of control in a new direction, placing fire crews, evacuees and more homes in greater danger. Fortunitly for the fire fighters, the passing front also produced rainfall that helped contain the fire".
"The predominate forest fuel in the area is the jack pine, which
firefighters call "green gasoline" because during the spring it has
characteristics that make it very easy to ignite and, once ignited,
produces fire intensity that results in rapid-spread crown fires -
especially when driven by strong winds - and significant fire spotting.
The date of the fire coincides with with the seasonal time of the lowest
moisture content in the needles of the jack pine. In addition to jack
pine fuels, dried ground fuels comprised of vegetation from the previous
year contributes significantly to the combustable availiable fuel in the
area. As a result, May is annually a time of predictably high fire danger
in the area. Unfortunitly, the risk of similar type wildfires exist in
all the Great Lake states during other times of the year as well".
"First response to this fire was by the DNR. Some 22 area fire departments
from local and state agencies worked to eventually contain the fire.
Firefighters, law enforcement personnal and state employees combined to
evacuate 500 residents from the fast-moving, wind-driven fire. Fortunitly
there were no fatalities and only one firefighter was injured from smoke
inhalaltion".
"Findings from the analysis of this fire indicates that the initial scope
and rate of spread of the fire was greater that could be controlled by
human intervention. In fact, the rapid spread was GREATER than the Black
Tiger Fire in Boulder, Colorado in 1989, which had the added factor of
strong up-slope winds. The Stephan Bridge Road fire burned through flat
land where preheating of uphill fuels was not a factor. Up-slope winds and
dry, combustable fuels are known to contribute to rapid fire spread in
places such as Colorado and California, but the Stephan Bridge Road fire
reminds homeowners and fire management presonnal that combinations of
several factors of terrain, weather, fuels and home construction can make
homes susceptible to loss from wildfire in many other parts of the
country as well".
"This wildfire represents yet another increasingly common example of the
risks of building homes in area of scenic but combustible vegetation.
Northern Lower Michigan is an area with a long history of wildfires, yet
people continue to build new structures dangerously close to this
vegetation and too often take little or no precaution to protect
themselves against the known risks".
"Despite increasing concern and prevention efforts by state, federal and local fire protection agencies in Michigan and despite the mobilization of so many firefighters, this fire beacme the most destructive fire in Crawford County history".
"Many publications offer guidance to the residents and recreational users of wildfire/urban interface areas. One of which, 'Protection of life and property from wildfire', produced by the NFPA, provides detailed criteria for use in any locality. Most homeowners, however, remain not fully aware of, or are insufficently concerned about, the probelm. As for the residents affected by the Stephan Bridge Road fire in Michigan, they have learned a new, higher respect for the power of wildfire. Unfortunitly for them, it also came at a very high price".