ESCANABA — Not yet two days after units from three counties battled fires on a beloved stretch of the central Upper Peninsula from land and air, fire danger remains extremely high, and open burning is not allowed.

Early Tuesday afternoon, reports of smoke and fire in the vicinity of Federal Forest Highway 13 sent multiple agencies racing to help prevent the blaze from taking out much of Hiawatha National Forest.

It was right around 1:30 p.m. that Nahma Township Fire Department was called, said Fire Chief Travis Cayemberg. Nahma and several other volunteer fire departments around the area remained on scene until about 4 p.m. However, once the area was contained, the U.S. Forest Service kept the fire under control, and remained at the site even Wednesday.

The affected area was about a mile span of FFH-13 between County Roads 440 and 442. However, Chief Cayemberg clarified, it was “several spot fires in the ditch of Highway 13,” not one mile-long fire.

“When we got on scene, it was starting to spread into the woods,” Cayemberg said. “The first responders — us and the other departments — kind of kept it at bay from going too far into the woods. Once the Forest Service got on scene, we had it fairly contained, and they advised they were bringing in water tankers… (for) aircraft firefighting.”

In addition to Nahma and the Forest Service, other responding agencies were the Ensign Township Fire Department, Garden Township Fire Department, Inwood Township Volunteer Fire Department, Tri-County Volunteer Fire Department, the Munising Township Fire Department and the Department of Natural Resources (DNR).

“Aircraft were utilized from the time of initial report, around 1:30 p.m., until approximately 5:00 p.m. (Tuesday),” reported Public Relations Officer Chelsea Kallery for the USFS Hiawatha National Forest. “There was one fixed-wing reconnaissance plane from MI-DNR, and from the Forest there was one fixed-wing air attack plane, one Type 3 helicopter, and two amphibious water scoopers, which scooped from Big Bay De Noc.”

A portion of FFH-13 was closed between County Road 440 and County Road 442 on Tuesday.

As of Wednesday, the fire was not 100% out, but it was 100% contained.

“This means that firefighters have established a control line around the perimeter of the fire, and they will continue to monitor it until it is officially declared controlled and out.,” Kallery explained. “Smoldering and burning may still occur within the perimeter, and smoke will continue to be visible for a few days.”

As personnel continues to monitor the area, people are advised to avoid the area or use caution and drive slowly on FFH-13, keeping an eye out for signs, people, and equipment.

Separate notices came from multiple agencies on Wednesday regarding the high level of fire danger.

“Put down those matches. With fire danger levels extreme across the majority of the Upper Peninsula and very high across the northern Lower Peninsula, Wednesday and Thursday are not the days to burn in Michigan,” wrote the DNR in a press release.

“There is elevated wildfire potential across the U.P. and will continue until significant precipitation is received. Use caution while on the Forest,” said a Facebook post from U.S. Forest Service – Hiawatha National Forest.

Gusty winds projected for today raise the wildfire risks even further. “Windborne embers from a fire can fly far and wide, spreading fire fast,” reminded the DNR.

“Burn permits are closed until we receive sufficient rain to set back fire danger levels,” said Paul Rogers, fire prevention specialist with the Michigan Department of Natural Resources. “Some rain is possible late Thursday night, but we are asking people to be careful going into the weekend.”