10 acre wildfire continues to burn in Upper Peninsula's Isle Royale National Park

A forest fire burning.
A forest fire burning. Photo credit Getty Images

A wildfire that started Saturday is still burning in Isle Royale National Park in Michigan's Upper Peninsula.

Now called the Mount Franklin Fire by the National Park Service, the blaze covers approximately 10 acres but looks to be contained for the moment.

According to Supervisory Park Ranger Chris Amidon, a crew of ten firefighters is on its way from Minnesota to help extinguish the fire.

On Saturday, an air tanker was flown in from the neighboring state to drop 4 thousand gallons of water on the fire to aid suppression efforts.

Amidon spoke to WWJ about the initial steps taken after the fire was discovered.

"We had fog and mist and low levels of active fire weather that really limited [the fire's] growth from the initial approximated 10 acres," said Amidon. "So the initial response crews were able to get a fairly good handle on it."

Amidon also confirmed that there have been no reported injuries.

"Relatively quickly, rangers were out in the park, closing trails and alerting backpackers, hikers and campers... We feel confident that we were able to contact and route folks that were affected by this."

The cause of the fires at Isle Royale National Park, which were still burning as of Saturday, is currently unknown. However, the National Park Service shared a press release on Sunday saying it is under investigation.

Park staff first received reports of smoke from the fire burning in the area of Three Mile campground on Saturday, according to the release.

Isle Royale firefighters responded, and visitors were evacuated from the campground and surrounding trails.

Officials are asking for help in finding out how the fires started. Anyone who was in the area of Tobin Harbor Trail, Three Mile Trail, or Mount Franklin Trail on Aug. 12-13 is being asked to call 888-653-0009 or email nps_isb@nps.gov if they have information.

Closed campgrounds and trails will be signed where possible and remain closed until further notice.

Areas to stay clear from include: Mount Ojibway Trail; Lane Cove Trail and Campground; Three Mile Campground and Dock; Greenstone Ridge Trail from the Daisy Farm Trail junction east to the Tobin-Duncan Portage Trail junction; Rock Harbor Trail between Daisy Farm Campground and Rock Harbor; Mount Franklin Trail; Tobin Harbor Trail; Suzy’s Cave Trail; and Cross-Country Camping Zones 8, 8A, 9A, 10, 11, 12, 13, 33 and 36.

Featured Image Photo Credit: Getty Images