CLYDE TOWNSHIP, Mich. — First responders are battling a large wildfire in Allegan County's Clyde Township.
Paul Rogers, a fire prevention specialist with the Michigan Department of Natural Resources, told FOX 17 on scene that a spotter plane flew over the wildfire and estimated it to be about 250 acres.
The DNR said the fire was about 92 percent contained by 9 p.m. Wednesday.
The department also tells FOX 17 the flames are mostly on state land in the Allegan State Game Area; however, the DNR says flames also spread to some private land.
Overall, the Allegan State Forest covers more than 50,000 acres, providing a space for people to hunt, fish, hike and relax among other outdoor activities.
Fire crews did evacuate six nearby homes initially but everyone was able to go back to their homes a short time later.
"That's our first thing is to protect lives and property when we come in."
The first call came in a little before 3 p.m. Wednesday, but fire crews aren't sure when exactly the fire started. Right now, there's no indication of where the fire started or how, but crews plan to investigate it Thursday.
According to the DNR, the wind coming out of the southwest pushed the fire to the northeast; however, it did change direction several times.
"What we want to do is we try and get a dirt line all the way around it, six to eight feet wide, and that allows...it will stop the spread of the fire if the wind isn't too high but also allows the trucks to get in behind us and mop up all the operations and let the fire burn out to the line," Rogers explained. "And then it's contained because there's no more fuel left."
He added that it will take several days to contain the fire fully. "We want to watch the weather closely because there's supposed to be higher winds again [Thursday]," Rogers said. "We'll have crews on it [Thursday] mopping up, making sure things are out along the line and just watching it finish out."
We are still working to learn where the fire started and what caused it.
"Springtime is our highest fire danger time. This is really elevated because of the high winds that are coming in, that's our biggest risk," Rogers told FOX 17. "And obviously it was very hot. It was almost 80 degrees out here [Wednesday] so that all plays into it, but also there's so much to burn because of all [of] last year's grass. The leaves in the woods, those are all prime to burn. Everything's really dry right now, so it's very high fire danger time."
The DNR says no one was hurt.
As far as preventing this from happening in the future, you should always check with the DNR to see if burning is permitted in your area.
