Ellison Bay Fire “could have been far worse”

Firefighters were back on the scene of a large grass fire in Ellison Bay this morning. The fire burned more than 80 acres near Europe Lake Friday afternoon and flare-ups continued Saturday morning.

A large field that is part of the Heron Ridge development suffered much of the damage from the fire. Pete Szymanczyk, the development’s property manager, said he was in Chicago when he got the news of the fire. He drove back to Door County immediately and spent the night at the scene.

The edge of the field where a fire burned 80 acres in Ellison Bay Friday. The charred field is accessible only by a private development road.

“At the end of the day the most important thing is that nobody was injured, but it’s a shame that it had to happen,” Szymanczyk said as he surveyed the charred expanse near the corner of Isle View Road and Timberline Road between Ellison Bay and Gills Rock. The heavy smell of smoke still dominated the air. The fire was kept in check just before it could spread into tall pines at the edge of a field full of small bushes, trees, and grass that served as fertile, dry kindling for the fire.

“I just can’t say enough about the incredible response we got out of all the emergency responders as well as the private citizens who dropped what they were doing to help us get this under control,” he said. “It’s quite touching to see that kind of response. Without it, this very easily could have been far worse.”

Sister Bay/Liberty Grove Fire Chief Chris Hecht was back on the grounds monitoring flare-ups Saturday morning. He expects firefighters to be there keeping watch for a couple days. Hecht thought the origin of the fire had not yet been determined.

At least three property owners were affected by the fire, reported by a passerby at 3:15 pm Friday, Sept. 16. Nobody was injured and an outbuilding was the only structure damaged. Mutual aid came from the Egg Harbor, Ephraim, Baileys Harbor, Jacksonport and Gibraltar Fire Departments, as well as assistance with heavy machinery from John Fitzgerald Construction and Jacob Gransee’s Townline Timber tree service.

Hecht is urging people not to burn, as the lack of rain in Northern Door has created extremely dry, dangerous conditions.