State workers celebrated the reopening of over a dozen state parks in northern Michigan in time for Memorial Day tourism.
After ice storms devastated the region nearly two months ago, the Department of Natural Resources got to work clearing debris and repairing infrastructure.
“We've never had a situation where we've had that many locations that were that devastated," said Chuck Allen, a DNR spokesman. "We're actually really, really proud of our staff, how they came together.”
Allen said there’s still more work to be done, especially on clearing hiking trails, inland waterways and state forest campgrounds. Some early season reservations had to be canceled or changed while workers cleared debris.
The storm impacted hundreds of thousands of acres of state-managed lands, including 3,400 miles of state roads, 19 state parks, 54 state forest campgrounds, 169 boating access sites, and 3,290 miles of state-managed trails, according to the DNR.
The state will likely hire more trail workers this summer and ramp up fire safety efforts. Downed timber significantly increases the chance of wildfires.
"We're we're on high alert for fire damage or fire danger, and we're posting that everywhere we can, making sure that people are keeping their fires in their fire pits when they do come to campgrounds," Allen said.
Visit the DNR website for more fire safety tips.
