| 8-18
Media
Children,
community come together during forest fire
by 8-18 Media
On May 20, 2009 a fire broke in a rural, but fairly populated
area off of County Road 581 south of Ishpeming. The fire was caused
by a fallen power line and resulting sparks. Because of the very
dry and windy conditions, the fire spread quickly.
The fire burned for several days and by the time it was contained
more than thirty buildings burned—about twenty of those buildings
were houses. The fire ended up burning more than 800 acres of
land along the Escanaba and Black Rivers and was given the name
The Black River Falls Fire by the Michigan Department of Natural
Resources. During the time the fire was battled, a large number
of residents along County Road 581––some 500 according
to officials––were evacuated. Of the evacuees, significant
numbers were children younger than eighteen.
When families were told to evacuate, they only had a matter of
minutes, in some cases, to grab what they could and get out. Many
of the families were unable to grab anything since the fire spread
so quickly and it started during the school and workday.
Tia Haglund, seventeen, received an urgent call from her dad sometime
after 5:00 p.m. on May 20. He asked her to go quickly to their
house and grab some important things, including the family cat.
“My dad had called me and told me we were being evacuated
and I needed to hurry home to grab pictures or anything that I
would want in case the fire did reach our house,” Haglund
said. “I was really afraid because I wasn’t sure my
house was going to be there when I got back.”
Haglund was especially nervous because she had heard her friend’s
house had burned already only about a mile from her house.
“I was really upset—I started crying,” she said.
“I can remember driving there and not being sure what was
going to happen or what it was going to be like when I got there.”
What the families who live in the area around the fire really
wanted most in those uncertain hours was information on their
family members, pets and property. The place to get any information
available was at the Red Cross shelter located in Westwood High
School in Ishpeming Township. Red Cross officials said about 300
people passed through the shelter on May 20. Annie Stanger, a
spokesperson for the central Upper Peninsula Chapter of the American
Red Cross, the shelter was an important focal point.
“Our job was to set up a shelter where people who were evacuated
from their homes could go because there was worry that they couldn’t
get through the roads, or they couldn’t get back to their
house, or their house might be burned down,” she said.
Larry Boburka, a guidance counselor at Westwood High School, described
the mood of the youth at the shelter that first day while the
fire was still blazing and the fate of their homes was uncertain.
“There were small groups of kids throughout the gym,”
he said. “I think they were trying not to let people see
how scared they actually were. Many students whose houses were
not in danger of burning showed up to provide support to their
friends. And, if someone did look very upset, they would quickly
be surrounded by hugs and words of encouragement from their peers.”
According to Stanger, there were a number of evacuated families
with kids that came to the shelter for information, food or other
support.
“There were a lot of small children and there were a lot
of high school kids as well,” she said. “Some of the
high school kids were just around because they were at ball practice
or something and they were curious about what was going on at
the shelter. So some came and helped us in a number of ways.”
Stanger said volunteers played games with the younger kids and
set up and unloaded equipment. Haglund was one of the youth who
showed up at the shelter to help out. She helped bring in blankets,
bottled water and other drinks.
“I helped out there as much as I could because I figured…what
better to do than help other people that are in the same situation
as you?” she said.
A testament to the local support is that, according to Stanger,
no one under eighteen had to sleep at the shelter. Some local
residents felt bad for the families with children so they offered
to give up their houses or apartments so the families would have
a more comfortable place to stay.
As many as 100 firefighters and other emergency personnel were
at the scene during the height of the blaze. Many of those firefighters’
children were told a parent or loved one had been called out to
the big fire.
Khora Swanson, nine, of Ishpeming, has a father who is a wildlife
biologist with the Michigan Department of Natural Resources, and
he was called to assist at the scene. Swanson said she was scared,
but proud of the part he played in battling the fire.
“He could have been burned or hurt in the fire, and I was
worried about him,” Swanson said. “But, I was also proud
of him because he risked his life to fight a huge fire for other
people and that was good.”
Swanson said her dad was gone for a day, and came back for a little
while, then had to leave again for a couple of days. She said
when he came home he told her how hot it was there and how tired
he was.
Swanson’s family also has a camp out near County Road 581,
but luckily it was not damaged. After the fire was out, she and
her family took a ride out to their camp and her dad showed them
some of the things that happened, some houses that were burned
and some that were saved.
“As we were driving there to go see it, my dad was showing
my mom a lot of the fire,” she said. “They dug fire
lines around houses, and you could just see all of the trees that
were all black, and you would look at the house and it seemed
like nothing was wrong. The house was just perfect, but all around
it the trees were burned.”
Haglund is thankful for the firefighting efforts: “We were
far enough away, but I think if the firefighters wouldn’t
have been there, [my house] would have been gone.”
The Red Cross, the Marquette County Fire Relief Fund, and other
agencies helped the victims of the fire immediately by giving
them money or cash cards to buy what they needed to live comfortably
until they could return home or find alternative housing. They
also provided the evacuees with a “comfort kit” that
had toothpaste, a toothbrush, shampoo, soap and wash cloths. The
Red Cross and many local businesses and volunteers also helped
by providing food and snacks, clothing and games for the families
to play and to be comfortable while at the shelter. Stanger said
the kids at the shelter stayed busy.
“We had lots of food for them to eat and they liked that,”
she said. “We also just played basketball with them and talked
and teased with them. A lot of times they kind of sat around their
family, but once they got a little more comfortable, they just
kind of played with each other.”
Boburka said the mood of the crowd stayed upbeat throughout the
uncertainty.
“There was a lot of trepidation and anxiety,” he said.
“Nobody wanted to lose their home and their stuff. But I
heard a lot of phrases like ‘I’m glad everybody got
out safely.’ And, when the fire department made an informational
announcement about the fire control process, people actually stood
up and thanked them with applause.”
As the news of the fire spread—at about the same pace as
the flames—the phone lines at the Red Cross office rang on
and off all day with callers asking what they could do to help.
According to Stanger, an account was quickly set up at the Ishpeming
Community Federal Credit Union to accept cash donations while
the Salvation Army and P.C. Medic and Fox Motors (Ishpeming Township
and Negaunee businesses, respectively) opened their doors for
clothing, furniture and other donations. After the fire, victims
were allowed to select what they needed to get back on their feet.
The remaining goods were sold in a large rummage sale, with the
proceeds to go toward the victims. Many community fundraisers
have been held to raise funds. The Black River Falls Fire Victims
Fund at the Ishpeming Community Federal Credit Union still is
accepting donations for the many families now struggling to recover.
The fire destroyed twenty homes, but the whole community came
together to support one another. According to Boburka, the way
this community reacted showed how much neighbors care about each
other.
“People can learn a lot about a community when faced with
a crisis. I learned that the people of Ely Township are some of
the toughest, most resilient folks on this planet,” he said.
“They came together and helped each other out like a giant
family. There is still a lot of work to be done. But, if what
they showed during the fire is any indication of their ability
to bounce back, I believe they will be OK. The people of [the
Ishpeming area] are a perfect example of why we choose to live
in the U.P.”
—8-18 Media
Editor’s Note: This story was written by Tia Platteborze,
12, Lorissa Juntti, 10, Sydney Dorow, 10, and Mariel Morton, 10.
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