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Michigan rallies for wildfire victims

Michigan support of wildfire relief efforts in the Great Plains spans throughout rural pockets of the entire state.

Ongoing efforts from volunteers the past few weeks have collected donations from nearly 70 of Michigan’s 83 counties and planned several convoy trips to support farmers and ranchers affected by wildfires in Texas, Kansas, Oklahoma and Colorado.

Matt Shaller, a truck driver from Michigan, coordinated one the first convoys of seven semis filled with supplies. Since then several efforts have combined through social media and in rural communities creating the Michigan Convoy Facebook page which in the last two weeks has grown to more than 5,100 followers.

Convoys of nearly 70 semi-trailers and trucks loaded with supplies left this past weekend from the Thumb and Mid-Michigan regions.

Jock Kartes, a crop farmer from West Branch, is leading the Ogemaw Wildfire Convoy next weekend to Kansas.  “In the farming industry when a fellow farmer needs help, if we’re able to help we’re going to help.”

An estimated 200 trucks will make the journey from Michigan to affected regions by the end of the month.

AUDIO: Interview with Jock Kartes on Ogemaw Wildfire Convoy