But current drought could cause fall fires
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BARAGA -- Cool summer days are part of the reason the fire season in the Upper Peninsula has been slow this year.
For most of the current season, the fire danger rating has been at low or moderate. So far since April, 49 fires have burned 34 acres in the U.P.
Last year, 135 fires burned 20,000 acres from April through December. The Sleeper Lake fire did contribute 18,000 acres to that total.
Still, Department of Natural Resources fire calls are considerably down this year.
"We didn't have much for our spring season," said D.N.R. Fire Officer Dan Laux, "with the weather and the rain. Temperatures kept things pretty well in check."
There have only been a few days this summer where temperatures reached the high 90s, prompting D.N.R. fire officers to change the fire danger rating to extreme.
Still, it is dry across the U.P., and people should still use caution when starting a fire.
"The droughts are still up there," Laux said. "We've bought a few days we've had the cooler temperatures, but the potential for us to dry out quickly is still there, dependent on the weather, of course, if we get some warm weather."
The fire season runs through December, when snow keeps the danger down.
