Alpena, MI — A dry winter and recent sunny skies have led to a rash of recent brush fires around the state. Since Friday, the Michigan Department of Natural Resources has responded to at least 40 such fires in the state, That's according to Don Klingler, the DNR's resource protection manager for the Lower Peninsula. The Alpena News reports a fast-moving grass fire Monday burned 86 acres in northeast Michigan’s Alcona County. Roger MacNeill, a forest fire officer at the Lincoln DNR office, said the fire jumped a drainage ditch and the Black River. He says it was among about 20 fires burning at once on Monday.