Poverty Island Fire Consumes 20 Acres of Forest

Sixteen firefighters are on Poverty Island, trying to stop the progress of a lightning-caused fire from reaching the island’s inactive lighthouse. This week the fire consumed 20 acres of the 200-acre island forest. In total, the fire has burned 46 acres. Firefighters are using a 28-foot boat from the National Park Service to ferry firefighter and supplies to the island from Fayette State Park on Michigan’s Garden Peninsula. In the next week, they will be put out hot spots and monitor the fire’s edge. A smoke column rising from the island’s interior may be visible from northeast Wisconsin, especially on hot, dry days. Smoke and occasional torching of timber will occur until winter precipitation and temperatures extinguish the fire. The public is asked to please stay away from the island until winter is able to fully extinguish the fire. The lighthouse, which is no longer in use, is under the care of the U.S. Bureau of Land Management. The island is part of the Grand Traverse Islands, between the Garden Peninsula and the Door Peninsula.