State and federal officials warn of signnificant fire dangers in part of north and west Michigan, particularly in the state’s Upper Peninsula.
The Upper Peninsula and parts of the north and west Lower Peninsula are currently reporting high or very high fire risk for wildfires, according to a MesoWest Great Lakes Fire & Fuels map, as of May 7.
Given the fire risk, open burning is currently banned in the Upper Peninsula and central-west Michigan, while northwest Michigan has restrictions in effect, according to a map from the Michigan Department of Natural Resources’ Burn Permits Management System, as of May 7.
Here’s what to know.
What is Michigan’s current fire risk?
The “fire danger rating” tracks fire risk based on current or predicted fuel, weather and topographic conditions, applied to certain science-based equations, the U.S. Department of Agriculture’s Forest Service says on its website.
In Michigan, parts of north and west Michigan — including the entire Upper Peninsula — face greater fire risks, while the majority of the Lower Peninsula is seeing a reduced risk, as of May 7, 2025, according to the MesoWest data.
In the Upper Peninsula, most of the peninsula is under a very high fire risk, the map shows. The far eastern UP, two monitoring stations in the north-central UP, one in Hancock on the Keweenaw Peninsula and two at Isle Royale National Park report a slightly lower “high” fire risk.
The majority of the Lower Peninsula is at a low fire risk, the map shows. Nine monitoring stations report a medium risk, mainly in southwest and central Michigan. A medium risk is also reported at the monitoring stations on Grosse Ile in southeast Michigan and at Big Cut in northeast Michigan.
High fire risk can be found throughout west Michigan and north along the Lake Michigan shoreline toward Petoskey.
What do the different fire risk levels mean?
When the fire danger is Extreme, fires of all types start quickly and burn intensely. All fires are potentially serious and can spread very quickly with intense burning. Small fires become big fires much faster than at the “Very High” level. Spot fires are probable, with long-distance spotting likely.
When the fire danger is Very High, fires will start easily from most causes. The fires will spread rapidly and have a quick increase in intensity, right after ignition. Small fires can quickly become large fires and exhibit extreme fire intensity, such as long-distance spotting and fire whirls.
High fire danger means fires can easily start from most causes, will spread easily and small fuels will readily ignite, fires can become serious and hard to control, the Forest Service said.
With moderate fire danger, most accidental causes can start fires, with typically low amounts started, fires typically easy to control, fires unlikely to become serious and average moderate intensity fires except for heavy fuel concentrations, the Forest Service says.
Low fire danger indicates fuels not igniting easily from small embers, fires potentially starting in duff or dry wood from an intense heat source and easy to control fires.
What’s a red flag event?
A “Red Flag Event” is a combination of environmental factors that can lead to extreme wildland fire behavior with the potential for uncontrollable results, the Forest Service said.
“Unusually low relative humidities and fuel moistures, combined with temperatures of 75 degrees or greater and sustained high winds of 20 mph or greater during preparedness level 3 or above prompt the implementation of critical fire weather advisories and warnings emphasizing extreme fire danger and very high potential for an unwanted major wildfire occurrence,” the service explained.
Red flag events are categorized in the following order:
Where does the DNR have burn bans in place?
The Michigan DNR’s Burn Permits Management System handles burn permits across northern Michigan and institutes various burn permit rules.
The DNR issues permits for Muskegon, Newagyo, Mecosta, Isabella, Midland and Bay counties and those to the north. Local entities are responsible for permits to the south.
Burn permits are available from the DNR for counties in the Upper Peninsula and northern Lower Peninsula only. In the southern Lower Peninsula, permits may be obtained from the local fire department or local governing body.
Open burning is currently not permitted in the entire Upper Peninsula, according to the DNR map.
In the northern half of the Lower Peninsula, the eastern and central region mainly permits open burning and debris fires with precautions, except for restrictions in effect for Bay, Clare and Roscommon Counties, the map shows.
To the west, open burning is currently not permitted in Lake, Mason, Muskegon, Newaygo and Oceana Counties and further northeast, in Kalkaska County, per the DNR map. The remaining areas of the northwestern and north-central Lower Peninsula have burn permit restrictions in effect.
Contact Jenna Prestininzi: jprestininzi@freepress.com.
This article originally appeared on Detroit Free Press: What’s the wildfire risk in Michigan? What the latest fire risk map shows
Reporting by Jenna Prestininzi, Detroit Free Press / Detroit Free Press
USA TODAY Network via Reuters Connect
