Sleeper Lake Fire

Location: Luce County. 6.5 miles north of the Village of Newberry.

Size: Estimated at 18,185 acres and 80% contained. Statewide Toll Free Information 1-877-261-3473 Work on the fire lines over the last few days really paid off for firefighters today. In spite of the gusty winds and drying fuels, the fire stayed within the lines. Fire forces were beefed up along the north lines for patrol and immediate reaction to flare-ups. Some hotspots were noted, but quickly taken care of. Patrol and monitoring continued until 8 pm when temperatures began to fall and humidity increased. The wind is expected to continue to be strong through the night and into tomorrow, but not expected to push the fire outside the fire lines.

Tomorrow is expected to be another High fire day, but the winds are expected to moderate as the day goes on, and humidity is expected to be higher. There remains a concern along the northeast line, where an interior hotspot in tag alder roughly 10 acres in size, continues to smolder and be a potential source of trouble. Incident commander MacDonald will address this over the next couple of days.

Safety officers were pleased with another injury free day, in spite of snags falling in the high winds.

County road 407 will have the 45 mph speed limit lifted tomorrow. County road 420 and the Chesbrough Lake area remain under evacuation order.

Anyone wishing to access properties within the evacuated zones should contact the Sheriff Department's office directly at 906-293-8431.

As of today, there are 8 active forest fires currently on-going in the Upper Peninsula ranging up to 13 acres in size. These fires continue to stretch firefighters and push equipment to its limits.

Incident command plans for the Sleeper Lake Fire included allocating initial attack team resources to respond to any new fires. Fire fighters from the Sleeper Lake fire have responded as part of the initial attack team to the Mile Alley in Mackinac County. This fire is located northwest of the village of Engadine in an area that had previously been part of a timber sale on private land. The fire began in logging slash, winds quickly pushed it toward a cedar stand. Usually this works to our advantage since cedar grows in wet areas and can help slow the fire, giving fire fighters an advantage. Today bevcause of the drought the fire burned through the cedar and was stopped as it exited the other side.

Hose has been laid, and a drop tank is in place. Current resourceson the Mile Alley fire include: two dozers, and 3 water units. Between 12 and 20 personnel either are or will be engaged fighting this fire. Air 4, our fixed wing aircraft, flew over the Sleeper Lake Fire and then over to the Mile Alley Fire directing traffic, looking for spotting and watching for backfires behind equipment.

The burning ban remains in effect throughout the upper peninsula, due to the current weather conditions and dry fuels providing a ready opportunity for a fire to grow quickly if it gets away.