13 acres burn in woods fire

Oceana County is currently under a burning ban

By Allison Scarbrough, News Editor

CLAYBANKS TOWNSHIP — Firefighters from four departments battled a 13-acre woods fire Monday afternoon, April 15, near Stony Lake Road and 56th Avenue, according to Grant Township Fire Chief Dan Yost.

“As far as Oceana County, it was the biggest one so far this year,” said Yost. Woods and grass fires are common in the springtime with dry conditions.

Firefighters battled the blaze for about three hours from 3:30-6:30 p.m. 

Grant Township Fire Department was assisted by Shelby-Benona, Ferry Township and Hart fire departments. “We had help with it from the DNR out of Oceana and Muskegon counties,” said Chief Yost.

“There were three houses that it was encroaching on, and one of them (the fire) was probably less than 10 feet from their building. They’re lucky they didn’t lose their house. We were able to stop it from spreading to any of the residences. That was our biggest worry initially was exposure to the houses.”

The fire could have been prevented had someone heeded the burning ban in Oceana County. “It was caused by burning from the day before “They thought it was out, and it was not out.” Open debris burning is presently not permitted in Oceana County due to dry conditions.

Go to https://www.dnr.state.mi.us/burnpermits/ to see if open burning is permitted or check with your local fire department.

Violators of burning bans can be ticketed for wasting valuable resources required to battle woods and grass fires. “They will get a citation for allowing a fire to escape.”

Recreational fires contained in fire pits are permitted, however, said Yost. “No open burning — no brush piles, anything like that.”

In addition to checking the DNR website, residents should contact with their local municipality to find out if burn permits are required.

Household materials are not allowed. “The night before, we had a fire because someone was burning pallets, mattresses and actually a whole boat in the fire pit.” Violators will be cited. “You can have a recreational fire, but you need to be cautious of what you’re burning.

“If you want to have a recreational fire, especially during a no-burn time, make sure you have a hose ready and you’re watching it. Those embers can move and sometimes they can move over a mile and torch something off somewhere else.” Yost also reminds people to be cautious with fireworks, which can also spread embers.

“If a fire does get out of control, call 911 and please stay out of the way of first responders. Don’t put yourself in harm’s way.”

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