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April 11, 2025
In the middle of a long day of clearing fallen trees and branches from roadways near Lewiston, Mich., Jason Mittlestat was able to put down his chainsaw and enjoy an unexpected treat: lunch at a community meal.
Sponsoring the lunch was St. Francis of Assisi Catholic Church, which also provided hot showers and beds for people who couldn’t stay at home due to the ice storm that devastated parts of a 12-county area of northern Michigan starting March 30-31.
“It was donated food and all volunteers running it,” said Teresa Collins, church secretary. “One day we served 600 meals.”
Mittlestat, a Michigan Department of Natural Resources forester from Baraga, reflected on what will really stick with him from this effort: “Neighbors helping neighbors. People helping out,” he said. “That’s how people are getting out of this.”
His story caused us to ask a similar question to another crew member, then another and another at dinner last night.
We’ve talked extensively about the mission of clearing roads and access to communications towers. This time we asked our crews: “After all of this, what is going stick with you?”
None of those we asked talked about trees or roads.
Mittlestat’s coworker Todd Markham, also of Baraga, chimed in “The human spirit is to be kind. I don’t want people to think we’re bragging about the stuff we cut. So many people were out there doing all of this. Neighbor to neighbor. All over. And we got to see that.”
The more we chatted, and people recounted their experiences during this emergency, age and experience melted away and we all simply appreciated the communities that welcomed us.
Rae Weiland, a firefighter based in Plainwell, eagerly added: “I’m sort of early in my career. Everyone being able to come together and work towards a common goal, that’s what I’ve really appreciated.”
One road clearing team was handed a stack of thank you notes written and decorated by children, with encouraging slogans like “We’re cheering for you” and “You can do it.”
The stories came faster from more and more crew members as they pushed their empty dinner plates out of the way, while the smell of chainsaw exhaust and saw dust hung in the air.
We all came to complete the mission of clearing nearly 750 miles of road assigned by the counties through the State Emergency Operations Center and to provide access to almost 50 communications towers.
What we’re leaving with is insight into resilience – of the forest and our communities.
Jen Hansen, a DNR fire supervisor in the Atlanta office, shared a moment she found one day to appreciate the beauty of a grove of aspens, bent but not broken by the ice, arched into a tunnel shape. Not to mention the spirit of people in the area.
“The most impressive thing was the community support,” she said. “Not just towards us, but towards each other.”
Note to editors: Accompanying photos are available below for download.
Contact: Patrick Ertel, 989-370-1163
