Helicopter pilot Chris Turner of Whittemore Lake said he arrived at Mio's grass air strip this morning and immediately began flying 450 gallons of water at a time from a small lake near Mio to areas in the fire's active zone. Turner's helicopter made trips at 10-minute intervals between the lake and hot spots as at one point, firefighters reported flames flaring to 8 feet high. While Turner clearly saw many of the flaming areas from the air, he said twin-engine aircraft circling overhead also assisted him. On a few of the drops, they directed me into them. Officials indicated due to the area's extreme fire conditions, helicopters may be needed until it rains or the forest starts to green.
Helicopters are real handy with what is called initial attacks.
Despite Mother Nature's help, officials refuse to declare the fire that burned 4,000 acres of forest near Mio under control. An early rain and shifting afternoon winds allowed firefighters to stop the blaze from torching more of the Huron-Manistee National Forest and direct their efforts toward extinguishing fire. Then, the rain continued and became a real lifesaver for us. I am sure without the rain we would still be chasing the fire. She said during the next several days, firefighters will continue cutting a fire line around the miles of charred jack pine trees and stomping out hot spots.