Fire in UP mopped up

REPUBLIC — Michigan Department of Natural Resources firefighters and crews from township volunteer fire departments had the County Road 601 wildfire about 95 percnt contained Friday.

Pete Glover, the DNR’s incident commander on the blaze, said the fire was estimated at 80 acres, after better visibility over the fire and mapping the previous day helped delineate the extent of the burned area.

“The fire held within the containment lines last night,” Glover said. “It didn’t move.”

Glover said crews would workFriday to finish containing the fire and then begin the long process of mopping up (using foam to put out individual hot spots), which, depending on the weather, is expected to last for several days.

“We’re going to be working from the perimeter in toward the center of the fire,” Glover said. “Our goal for today is to have 25 feet in from the outer edge 100 percent mopped up.”

No injuries were reported.

The cause of the blaze has not been determined. DNR staffers were investigating.

Overnight, piles of logs that were on fire at the site were consumed, reducing the heat of the fire on Friday.

Shortly after 1 p.m. Thursday, tower personnel at Sawyer International Airport reported seeing smoke. A short time later, a DNR pilot flew over the scene, about four miles northeast of Republic, in Humboldt Township.