Burning Ban begins today for most of Michigan

An outdoor burn ban takes affect at 4:36 pm today for all Michigan counties except for - Berrien, Branch, Cass, Hillsdale, Lenawee, Monroe, St. Joseph and Wayne counties. Those counties have received quite a bit more precipitation in the past couple of weeks than the rest of the state. The following activities on or near forest lands are covered in the ban: Burning the following -

• Burning garbage
• Brush or leaves
• Even using a burn barrel
• Cigarette smoking outdoors

To quote the Detroit News -

A violation is a misdemeanor, and offenders could be held liable for the cost of fighting a fire if they start one.

Some of the best folks you will ever meet live in Michigan's U.P.

Take that headline at face value because I don't believe it is hyperbole. The people that inhabit the U.P. are as kind as the views up there are beautiful. The ongoing Sleeper Lake Fire has provided a chance for more of the state (those of us below the bridge in particular) to see just how wonderful Yoopers are. Today's Detroit Free Press has an article about the Upper Peninsula community of Newberry in particular. Newberry is the largest community (about 2,000 folks) in range of the fire and has been used as a base camp of sorts for firefighters and other necessary workers involved with fighting the fire.

My favorite quote from the article -

"We are Yoopers," said Janet Linck, who owns a Jimmy Buffett-style restaurant in Newberry. "If our backyard is on fire, we'll just go camping in the front yard."

That right there sums up the mentality of Yoopers. Not much seems to faze them and I think that is a fine quality to have.

The fine community of Newberry has had numerous volunteers donating and preparing food for the firefighters. Residents have put up 'thank-you' signs in their yards and most nights as the weary firefighters are returning to their hotel rooms they are greeted by enough clapping and cheering residents that you would think it was a 4th of July parade.

The U.P. is full of the same kind of people that make up the community of Newberry. They are a hard-working group that enjoys the simple pleasures of a slower lifestyle. I think that gives them the time to realize the importance of doing what you can to help others even if your resources don't seem too great. It's amazing what can take place when you band together to get a job done.

One last quote from the article-

Newberry is not a rich community. It is a blue-collar community with heart. You can go for days without seeing a Mercedes, Saab or Volvo roll through. But you can look in any direction and see an American-made truck.

Will we sit by and watch the Great Lakes drain away?

An article in today's Detroit News states that -

The northern Great Lakes, particularly Huron and Michigan, are losing water three times faster through the St. Clair River than previously believed, according to a study released Tuesday by a private Canadian group.

Of course, there is talk of an international study that should be performed to back up the study by the Canadian group. Like all things government related they believe the study could be finished in 3-5 years.

Nothing like the urgency of low lake waters (Lake Superiors water levels are the lowest in 80 years) to get a study done in just 3-5 years. If changes made to the St. Clair River are indeed causing the upper Great Lakes water levels to drop can you imagine where they will be in 3-5 years.

I don't know about you, but I think it is rather important to find out if indeed man has caused the lower levels and find some solutions to it.

For more information on the Great Lakes check out this list of books at my Best of Michigan page.

UPmag.net is the voice of Michigan's Upper Peninsula

I was reading about Upper Peninsula businesses at the WLUC TV-6 website and found a listing for UPmag.net. I am always looking for new sources of information about our beloved U.P. so I checked it out. I have to say I am quite impressed. UPmag.net is updated daily with local and national content. Recipes, Opinion pieces, Humor, great outdoor coverage, and a whole bunch of other interesting articles.

You can find all sorts of hidden U.P. gems by perusing the pages (yes, you can actually "turn" the pages of this online magazine) full of interesting tidbits.

I have added it to my list of favorite Michigan websites. It's a great addition to the other U.P. news sources.

UPmag.net

U.P. forest fire is 50% contained

Officials are saying that the Sleeper Lake Fire is contained by a fire line along about 50% of the fire's perimeter. The total acres burnt are now up to 18,483. The fire is the U.P.'s largest in about 30 years and in order for the fire to be completely extinguished it will be up to nature to take its course and some time.

Read the full article about the current condition of the fire at the Mining Journal.

Three stories of interest from Northern Michigan

It is a bit odd, but some interesting stories that have hit the newswire the past couple of days that all take place in Northern Michigan and Michigan's Upper Peninsula. First and foremost is the wildfire that has apparently stalled out after consuming some 18,000 acres of forest. For the first time since the fire began last week, the fire did not advance on Thursday. Fire lines have now ensnared about 70 percent of the fire's perimeter and hopes are high that the fire can be contained and snuffed out without further damage. Locals believe that the fire will not be officially put out until snow blankets the region.

Some sad news from the Mackinac Bridge of an unidentified woman who jumped 175 feet to her death just before 4 p.m. yesterday. There was another suicide at the bridge this past February and in the bridge's 50 years there have been more than a dozen such deaths at the bridge.

Here is a story that, if true, is one of those "how did that happen?" type of stories. An apple farmer and his family were searching for rocks along the Lake Superior shore at Fort Wilkins State Park when they came upon an orange weather beaten life preserver. Further inspection showed the faded and worn name of the ship - Edmund Fitzgerald.

Some are speculating that the preserver was planted by someone for whatever jollies they might derive from it. Is it possible that a piece of wreckage was actually found almost 32 years after the Edmund Fitzgerald sank? I think it is possible and so does a daughter, Cheryl Rozman, of one of the 29 who perished - Ransom Cundy.

The Keweenaw area is rugged and unpopulated and the preserver was found near a fallen tree which could have offered it a hiding place all of these years.