Bruce Burke

Carr Fire Chief Bruce Burke said the fire appears to have started behind a mobile home on Branson Road.

Those were the feelings Carr Fire Department Chief Bruce Burke had when his pager went off Thursday for a woods fire on a day when a red-flag warning had been issued.

Red-flag warnings serve as a temporary burning ban and are issued by the National Weather Service when conditions are conducive to wildfires.High winds, dry air and unseasonably high temperatures can wick the moisture out of the understory of the forest, particularly before the spring green-up.

Luckily for Burke and the 50-60 people from the four other departments called in, the winds gusting to 30 mph from the southeast weren't strong enough to propel the fire across Tyndall Road.

The fire, Burke said, started behind a mobile home on Branson Road.He said a minor violated the burning ban, leading to the wildfire.The U.S.Forest Service is investigating the fire, Burke said.
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Carr Fire Department was summoned first, at about 12:20 p.m., Burke said.Branch Township's fire department was summoned shortly after 1 p.m. Lake Township, Webber Township and the U.S.Forest Service also responded to the fire, which burned about 15 acres.

"We only got it out because of mutual aid," Burke said.

Burke said although they didn't have any federal firefighters leave for the large fire near Grayling, he's certain the helicopter that was on its way to his fire and was called off eventually ended up at that fire.A U.S.
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No one was harmed in the fire, Burke said.

Contacted this morning during a thunderstorm, Burke said he was glad to see the rain.

"I love it," he said.

Those were the feelings Carr Fire Department Chief Bruce Burke had when his pager went off Thursday for a woods fire on a day when a red-flag warning had been issued. via Ludington Daily News

One was Bruce Burke, chief of the Carr Fire Department, who works on the border of Mason and Lake counties.

“I've worked with both ambulance groups,†he said. “I can't say enough good about Mason County and I would also say the same about Lake.

Carr Fire Chief Bruce Burke, whose department responded first to the scene Friday, said the fire is still under investigation by the Michigan State Police Fire Marshal, but that it is not a suspicious fire.He believed Friday that the fire started in the east end of the Wayman home.

"It was on the ground when we got here," said Carr Fire Chief Bruce Burke.
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Burke, whose department responded first to the blaze at 8:46 p.m., said he believes the fire started in the east end of the manufactured home and worked its way west, but added he had no idea how the fire might have started.Burke said there was an external wood heater on the property, but he does not believe it was involved in the start of the fire.

"We have a northeast wind, which would bring the flames up," he said.

Bruce Burke of the Carr Fire Department said five departments responded, each with about 15 firefighters.
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Burke asked that people considering burning yard waste refrain from doing so.

For Carr Fire Department Chief Bruce Burke, the problem can't be fixed soon enough.

Burke said he understands that there will always be room for improvement in a new system, but he's concerned that before it's in proper working order, someone might not receive the response they need in time.
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Burke, of Carr Fire Department, said he doesn't care what is done to fix the system, he just wants to provide the best service possible to the people of the community."I'm not really blaming anybody," he said.

"It's really hard to tell exactly what happened," said Bruce Burke, Carrs Fire Department chief.