’76 Seney Wildfire Assistant Fire Boss Recounts Experience of State’s Largest Wildfire in Modern Era

The trend this summer across the Upper Peninsula has been hazy skies caused by wildfires in eastern Canada. Recently Michigan passed the anniversary of the state’s largest wildfire in the modern suppression era of firefighting. In 1976 the Walsh Ditch Fire burned over one hundred square miles in the Seney Wildlife Refuge and nearby areas. On the scene was Greg Lusk, with the Michigan DNR, assigned as the Assistant Fire Boss to the incident.

“And this fire started on July 30^th from a dry lightning storm. It was spotted by Michigan DNR aerial patrol in the designated wilderness area of the Seney National Wildlife Refuge. And after several weeks of fighting the fire it blew up, and spread out of the wilderness area, off of the refuge and onto the state and private land. Matter of fact it ran nine miles in one day. At the end the fire had spread a total of 72,500 acres. And this is of course during a period of record drought. Requiring an inter-agency fire fighting force requiring 1,200 people to achieve containment, and it burned until winter snows finally put it out. The first week of August I was dispatched to the fire and assigned duties as as the Assistant Fire Boss on the fire for the state. The fire burned, and of course I stayed there until the snows came.” – Greg Lusk, Author, The Great Seney Fire

During the incident, Lusk recounts that weather conditions allowed the fire to grow much larger, blazing across nine miles in a single day.

“On that day, when it took off and ran nine miles. It had been cooking, and the organic fuels burning, snaking around, and creeping around. But we had an event that brought in high winds, 15-20 miles an hour. The humidity got low, and it pushed it up into the surface fuel. Then the surface fuels which are pretty dry, and they took off running. It wasn’t the ground fire that ran, it was the surface fire that took off from the latent ground fire.” – Greg Lusk, Author, The Great Seney Fire

Lusk expressed that not many still remember the Great Seney Fire’s devistation, and he wants people, like his grandchildren, to know what happened.

“Human beings have short memories, so I guess the affirmation of not wanting to repeat history was in my mind. I also had personal reasons. I wanted my family, my grandsons in particular, too know what their grandfather did when he worked for the Michigan DNR. And after I started writing it, quite a long time ago actually, I felt there would be a need for maintaining this history for the future.” – Greg Lusk, Author, The Great Seney Fire

Tomorrow Lusk plans to attend a author meet and greet, at Raccoon Books and Curiosities, in Houghton, where he plans to talk a little about the fire, and of his experience. Those interested in meeting Lusk, or want to learn more about the Walsh Ditch Fire from one of the first responders in charge of the incident, can attend the book signing tomorrow at 4 pm.

Find a copy of Greg Lusk’s book, The Great Seney Fire: A History of the Walsh Ditch fire of 1976, here.

Raccoon Books and Curiosities is located at 220 Shelden Ave, Houghton, MI 49931. Greg Lusk’s Author Meet and Greet will begin at 4pm.

Questions about the book can be directed to thegreatseneyfire@yahoo.com