Posted on 10 August 2018. Tags: California, DNR firefighters, Michigan Department of Natural Resources, Oregon, Washington, wildfires

A DNR firefighter snapped this shot of a helicopter in action earlier this summer on assignment assisting firefighters in Colorado. DNR firefighters are currently helping fight wildland fires in several western states.
More than a dozen wildland firefighters from the Michigan Department of Natural Resources have been sent to California, Oregon, Washington and elsewhere to battle wildfires and to gain valuable firefighting experience.
A crew of three firefighters has taken a DNR fire engine to help fight the vast and still raging Carr fire in northern California, said Dan Laux, fire section manager for the DNR’s Forest Resources Division. Laux just returned from a two-week fire assignment in Portland, Oregon, mobilizing resources to battle fires in Oregon, Washington, California and Idaho.
“We’re mobilizing as many people as we can to assist wherever necessary,” Laux said. “It’s a great way for our folks to get experience, while providing their own skills and experiences to the situation at hand.”
Assistance agreements go both ways. If a significant fire occurs in Michigan, firefighters from other states and Canadian provinces can be tapped for help. Michigan’s largest recent fire was the Duck Lake blaze in the eastern Upper Peninsula, which burned more than 21,000 acres in 2012.
Since the beginning of the year, Michigan has sent firefighters to California, Colorado, Florida, Oklahoma, Oregon, Texas, Washington and Wyoming.
The Carr fire in northern California has burned more than 100,000 acres to date, causing six deaths. Fire officials there put out a national request last week for wildland fire engines from across the nation, and a three-man crew took a Michigan truck from the DNR’s Gladwin unit to California.
The DNR always keeps enough firefighters in the state to respond to any fires that might occur, though fire activity has slowed after recent rains in the northern portion of the state. The DNR also is fully reimbursed for the cost of sending firefighters to assist elsewhere.
Posted in Featured, Outdoors
Posted on 28 December 2017. Tags: California, Christmas, Ken Norris, Point Magu beach, Southern California, TJ Norris, Ventura

Solon Township residents Ken and TJ Norris got a great gift from friends in Southern California over the Christmas weekend: a visit to warm weather! The daytime temperatures were in the low 70s but it got cold (by Southern California standards) at night—the low 50s. This photo is taken at Point Magu beach, just south of Ventura.
Thanks so much to Ken and TJ for taking us with you!
Are you going on vacation? Take the Post with you and snap some photos. Then send them to us with some info to news@cedarspringspost.com or mail them to Post travels, PO Box 370, Cedar Springs, MI 49319. We will be looking for yours!
Posted in News, The Post Travels
Posted on 10 June 2016. Tags: California, Hergenrather, Laguna Niguel, Post, South Shores Church, Thornton, wedding

The Cedar Springs Post traveled to California with the Thornton family, where they celebrated the marriage of Tommy Thornton (2004 Cedar Springs grad) to Inge Hergenrather. The couple resides in San Clemente, California, where Tommy is an Orange County Sheriff Deputy and USMC Reservist, and Inge is an events manager.
Joining in the fun were Tommy’s parents, Tom and Sara; brothers Austin (2007 CSHS grad), and Judson (2010 CSHS grad); nephew Carson; and Cedar Springs High School friends Brandon Bauer and Mike Bigney (both 2004 grads).
The couple was married in the same church as Tom and Sara—South Shores Church, Laguna Niguel, California.
Thanks so much for taking us with you, and best of luck to the happy couple!
Are you going on vacation? Take the Post with you and snap some photos. Then send them to us with some info to news@cedarspringspost.com or mail them to Post travels, PO Box 370, Cedar Springs, MI 49319. We will be looking for yours!
Posted in Featured, News, The Post Travels
Posted on 12 June 2014. Tags: California, Thornton
Tom and Sara Thornton, of Solon Township, visited their son, United States Marine Corps 1st Lt. Thomas Thornton, this spring. (Thomas is a 2004 graduate of Cedar Springs High School). They watched him run an Orange County Marathon then took a photo with the Post. Thomas is currently stationed at Camp Pendleton.
Thanks to Tom and Sara for taking us with you to California!
Are you going on vacation? Take the Post with you and snap some photos. Then send them to us with some info to news@cedarspringspost.com or mail them to Post travels, PO Box 370, Cedar Springs, MI 49319. We will be looking for yours!
Posted in News