UPDATE: This story has been updated to include additional information from the Porcupine Mountains Wilderness State Park.
Fire destroyed the Whitetail Cabin at Porcupine Mountains Wilderness State Park on Friday night, and the popular rental will remain out of commission for the remainder of the summer.
The Michigan Department of Natural Resources requested assistance from local volunteer fire departments to control the blaze inside the park. The Ontonagon Village Fire Department reports crews met with the Carp Lake Fire Department to provide mutual aid around 10:30 p.m.
Volunteers could see visible smoke while en route to the site. Due to the remote location, only one brush truck and personal pickup trucks carrying portable pumps and wildland hoses were used to extinguish the fire.
A southerly wind kept embers flying toward the lake. Portable pumps were set up along the shore of Lake Superior, and hose was run 50 feet to the cabin location.
The DNR believes the fire started when an ember from firewood sparked dry wood stored inside the cabin. A camper who had checked out Friday morning may have unknowingly moved a log containing an ember, from near the woodstove, back to the storage pile.
Porcupine Mountains Wilderness State Park has contacted campers expecting to stay at the site have been refunded and informed of alternative cabins available during the season. The Porcupine Mountains Wilderness State Park includes 24 cabins for visitors to rent.
The DNR thanked volunteers from the Ontonagon Village Fire Department, Carp Lake Fire Department and park rangers who quickly responded and extinguished the fire.
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