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National Fire Plan Success Story

Pine Plains and Little Ridge Minimize Fire Impact in the Stonington WUI
Hiawatha National Forest, Michigan
National Fire Plan - Fuels Reduction - 2007

Since 2000, the Stonington Peninsula Wildland Urban Interface (WUI) has been a focus point for the Hiawatha's west zone fuels program. This area is characterized by large contiguous stands of jack pine, a fire evolved species capable of sustaining catastrophic wildland fire, and a growing number of private residences adjacent to timbered areas.

Map of the Pine Plains and Little Ridge Fuels Projects displaying land ownerships and the Stonington Fire boundary.

Through cooperative work with private landowners, the local township and volunteer fire departments, 28% (1,400 acres) of the 5,000 acres within the WUI has been treated through the Pine Plains and Little Ridge hazardous fuels reduction treatments. These treatments were designed to return large geographical openings to the landscape, which minimize the intensity of large fires within the WUI while restoring historic ecosystems.

On August 4, 2007, a wildland fire ignited within the WUI, originating in a dense stand of mature, insect diseased Jack Pine. The fire quickly spread toward numerous subdivisions and County Road 513, the main travel and utility corridor for the Stonington Peninsula. Only the Pine Plains and Little Ridge hazardous fuels reduction projects lay between the fire and subdivisions.

The effects of these projects were dramatic, allowing local, state, and federal responders to take advantage of the lower fire intensity and added defensible space to limit the fire spread to only 83 acres. No structures were lost, minimal acres on private land were impacted, and the fire did not cross County Road 513. The majority of the fire was suppressed within the openings created by the west zone fuels program - a very satisfying success for the Forest Service and its neighbors in the WUI!

Contact:  Michael Peterson at 906-474-6442