By David Fleet
Editor
Hadley Twp.-On Sunday afternoon crews from seven area fire departments battled a forest fire in a remote area of the Ortonville Recreation Area.

Township Fire Chief Kurt Nass said firefighters were called at about 3 p.m. to the area near Tody Lake near Vista Bay Trial.
“The call came in as a grass fire from an individual on a horse in a remote area,” said Nass. “Firefighters could see the smoke in the air but it was very difficult to determine the location of the fire due to the remote area. It’s also possible the forest fire caused a nearby barn fire that same afternoon. The structure was down wind from the fire in the woods.”
About 23 acres of forest were scorched by the blaze that took firefighters about five hours to contain.
Responding to the blaze was Atlas, Brandon, Elba, Grand Blanc and Hadley townships along with Davison and Metamora fire departments.

“The fire was either deliberately set or someone tossed a lighted cigarette along the trail,” he said.
Atlas, Davsion and Grand Blanc used special ATVs to transport water and firefighters to the remote area. In addition two local residents assisted in shuttling firefighters to the blaze. One firefighter was injured when they were hit in the eye with a stick.
Warm temperatures and strong winds combined with dry grass, leaves and pine needles on the ground have prompted the Michigan Department of Natural Resources to ask residents to restrict outdoor burning Tuesday, May 1.
Conditions are dry across the entire Lower Peninsula and in the southern half of the Upper Peninsula from Iron County to Mackinac County.
“We are currently seeing a significant increase in wildfire activity,” said Paul Rogers, fire prevention specialist for the DNR. “We are asking residents to restrict outdoor burning due to dry conditions.” The DNR also has canceled plans for prescribed burns last week.
Temperatures during the week were expected to hit 80 degrees in parts of the Lower Peninsula, with winds gusting up to 30 mph in some parts of the state.