TRAVERSE CITY — May is National Wildfire Awareness Month and according to the State of Michigan, between 10-12,000 wildfires happen each year.
“Very high danger of fire, if it escapes, you could have potential risk,” said Department of Natural Resources unit manager Matthew Edison.
Right about now, spring cleaning is in full effect. People shuffle through their yards looking for debris that may have accumulated through the winter.
Some people use controlled burns as a means of debris removal.
Department of Natural Resources unit manager Matthew Edison said that could be dangerous depending on the day.
“This time of year, winds play a factor in fire, the temperature, and then your relative humidity and how dry it is right now. We’ve got a pretty good combination of high-pressure systems here,” said Edison. “The temperatures are going to be rising as you know, so it’s going to dry out, and when the winds pick up, you get all three of those things working together. That is when you have increased fire danger.”
If you opt to do a controlled burn, there are a few things that are imperative to remember.
“Have a clear space, have your fire away from potential fuels that are nearby. And the big one is to make sure your fire is extinguished when you leave the area,” said Edison. “Have a fire in a contained area, whether it’s a rock fire pit or whatever you come up with when you leave that area. Make sure to put it out with water and extinguish it 100%. Don’t leave anything to chance. ”
With the Northern Michigan population growing, increased danger isn’t far behind.
“We do get people building in areas that are more prone to fire danger. But at the same time, we have increased response and better coordination with other agencies, ” said Edison.
Controlled burns are legal in Michigan, but it depends on the day, so make sure to check.
“With our Interactive map, you can click on your county, it will tell you the local conditions for burning, whether burning is allowed or not, given the fire conditions in that area.