Wetmore Pond wildfire burns 4.6 acres north of Marquette, and the DNR says a trail campfire may be to blame

MARQUETTE, Mich. — A late-night woods fire along one of Marquette’s most popular hiking areas burned about 4.6 acres before state firefighters fully contained it Sunday, and investigators say a trail user’s campfire may have started it.

The blaze, which the Michigan Department of Natural Resources named the Game II Fire, burned in the woods near Wetmore Pond along County Road 550 in Marquette Township, TV6/WLUC reported. Nobody was hurt, and no buildings were damaged or threatened, Marquette Township firefighters told WJMN.

How it unfolded. Crews were first called around 11 p.m. Saturday for smoke in the area, and within an hour they tracked the fire to the woods near Wetmore Pond and Hogback Mountain, WJMN reported. A driver who spotted heavy smoke near Sugarloaf Mountain helped point a responder to the flames, about 75 to 100 yards back from the Hogback parking lot along the trail to the pond, according to WJMN. DNR firefighters joined Marquette Township Fire and took command by about 3 a.m. Sunday. Crews pumped water from the pond and used leaf-blower lines to hold the fire, DNR Forest Fire Officer Andre Brown told WLUC.

The likely cause. The cause is under investigation, but Brown said there is “a decent chance” it was a campfire left by trail users. He urged hikers to follow the posted no-camping and no-ground-fire rules on the pond’s trails.

“Any fire that you start, you are responsible for, whether it turns into 4.6 acres or 460,” Brown told WLUC. Before leaving a fire, he said, stir it, add water and check it with the back of your hand; you should be able to feel the ashes without getting burned.

Can you still hike there? Yes. The trails stayed open, though crews would be doing mop-up work, Brown said. The DNR’s Upper Peninsula fire briefing on Tuesday morning listed continued mop-up on fires in Marquette, Baraga, Ontonagon and Gogebic counties.

A dry fall. The fire came days after the DNR warned that warm weather, gusty winds, fallen leaves and dry grass were keeping wildfire risk “higher than usual this late in the season.” The agency suspended all burn permits across the U.P. on Saturday because of the gusty south winds and dry fuels, WJMN reported. The Game II Fire was much smaller than the Ridge Fire northwest of Marquette, part of a three-fire complex that burned nearly 1,400 acres this month.

Before you burn this week. Tuesday’s DNR briefing forecast low to moderate fire danger, said permits may be issued based on policy and local conditions, and listed a better chance of wetting rain Wednesday night into Thursday. It also warned that drought conditions remain and that heat can hide along fire lines for days. Check the DNR burn permit page for your township on the day you plan to burn, keep campfires in a ring or pit, and never leave hot coals unattended.

Sources:
TV6/WLUC, “DNR firefighters completely contain wildfire at Wetmore Pond,” Oct. 25, 2026 (Game II Fire, 4.6 acres, County Road 550, Andre Brown quotes, suspected campfire, trails open), https://www.uppermichiganssource.com/2026/10/25/dnr-firefighters-completely-contain-wildfire-wetmore-pond/
WJMN/My UP News, “Firefighters establish lines around 3- to 5-acre woods fire near Wetmore Pond,” Oct. 25, 2026 (11 p.m. call, location near Hogback Mountain, DNR command at 3 a.m., no injuries or structures threatened, U.P. burn permits suspended Saturday, witness account), https://www.myupnow.com/news/firefighters-establish-lines-around-3--to-5-acre-woods-fire-near-wetmore-pond/article_cead810a-be0d-45db-a06f-3cfb074a609c.html
Michigan DNR, “UP fires may be waning, but risk of new fire remains high,” Oct. 22, 2026 (fire-risk warning, Rugged Terrain Complex acreage, campfire tips), https://www.michigan.gov/dnr/about/newsroom/releases/2026/10/22/up-fires-may-be-waning
Michigan DNR, Upper Peninsula Morning Fire Briefing, Oct. 27, 2026 (mop-up, fire danger, burn permits, rain chances, drought caution), https://www2.dnr.state.mi.us/weather/upmorningbriefing.pdf
Michigan DNR, burn permit status page, https://www.michigan.gov/dnr/managing-resources/forestry/fire/burn-permit
Photo: Modlind, “Hogback huron.jpg,” Nov. 11, 2007, Wikimedia Commons, public domain, cropped and color-adjusted, https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Hogback_huron.jpg

Marquette

Tags: Marquette · Marquette Township · Wildfire · Michigan DNR · Wetmore Pond · Burn Permits